


Written in the Stars [EN]

by LintyLokh (Vampz)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Tom Hiddleston, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Redemption, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, They Both are Soft, Top Chris Hemsworth, mention of bullying, mention of sexual harassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2020-07-25 13:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20026618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampz/pseuds/LintyLokh
Summary: A story of a former-stage-actor screenwriter and a part-time-singer bakery shop owner. (Translated ver.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Written in the Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16611833) by [Vampz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampz/pseuds/Vampz). 

> This is a translated work done by myself. The translation might not be exactly precise to the original story because I am not a professional translator, nor a native/everyday English user/speaker. And I don't have anyone beta-read before I publish any chapter here (except Grammarly 😂) so... pardon me if there is any mistake I've made (and will probably make some in the future).
> 
> It will definitely take me long enough to translate the whole story, so please be patient. I can't tell you how long per chapter would I need for the translation. (Well, it took me like 8 months and a half to complete the original story with 25 + 2 (unposted explicit extra) chapters with approximately 77.5k words (mind you, AO3 word count for Thai language is far from accuracy), so... as I said, please be gentle with me.)
> 
> Also, I've been trying my best writing down my depiction of them as how they are from my point of view. I'm trying to make them least OOC (in my opinion) because alas, I dislike the OOC stuff too. I also incorporated some facts, ref to real events, and tidbits of Chris and Tom in this story as well, if you could spot them later in the story.
> 
> Anyway, I'll have to apologise in advance if my depiction of them might not be the right one, or too OOC for you (from how you see them as a person). Feel free to leave the comments/thoughts wherever you like. For me personally, it's kinda good to know when there are still people out there waiting for the next chapter. Honestly, I must admit I don't feel like I'd do this for long without any readers present, but I'll try my best not to abandon this project. 😅 (Or you can just leave a kudo so that I know you're waiting.)
> 
> Lastly, Thank you for dropping by as well, and I desperately hope you enjoy reading this story. (I know it's kinda boring because this is a slow burn...)

(Commission by lovely [Bukimin](https://twitter.com/bukitan64) ♥ | Please do not repost/reshare/remove credit on this picture without permission)

—

Tom was sitting on a stool, placing his right elbow on top of the bar counter while covering his own right cheek with his right hand. Sipping the alcoholic drink slowly, he spun the glass that he had just ordered. The clanking sounds between the ice and the glass were made, along with the traditional music on the opposite side of the bar.

He had just got some free time to explore the new town where he was living after he had just moved from within the busy, noisy downtown to the nice quiet countryside a few weeks ago. His neighbourhood was neither excluded from other people nor overly crowded. It was the great atmosphere and tranquility which were hardly found anywhere in the downtown area that influenced his decision. (Excluding the yelling of those drunkards in the bar.) There were mixtures of the hills, trees, rivers, land, and sea. The city wasn’t too busy and chaotic, or filled with lots of unavoidable irritating horns beeping from the cars running down the streets. Nor did it had those numerous skyscrapers blocking the beauty of the clouds and sunlight. He admitted that, according to the accommodation, it wasn’t as comfortable as the former home, but it was, to say at least, his mental happiness that got a massive improvement.

It was snowing outside. A sprinkle of snow was falling from the sky, contrasting the cold dark night with its colour. Tom was delicately sipping the drink at the bar, letting the liquid run through his throat, drowning himself in the nightlife of this newly unfamiliar place, then there were screams piercing through his ears. Curiosity made him looked up to the source of that sound.

A few moments later, people in the bar went silence. It was so quiet that he could hear people’s breaths, like the group of three young men on the stage had weaved and captured the whole audience with their charisma. Soft and gentle such as the good old red wine, yet it was a kind of music to his ears.

Unintentionally, once, his eyes met the lead singer’s. They were undeniably attractive. The man on the stage was tall and muscular. Standing upright holding the microphone, he seemed strong, stable, and, at the same time, his soft gentle yet deep vocal equipped him a strangely delicate look.

As though he had been under the effect of a spell when their eyes met, Tom couldn’t possibly break it himself unless the man on the stage wanted to, ending any relation that remained between him and the audience in just a split second.

Until the country medley songs had finally ended, followed by vigorous applauses and squeals from the audiences, he then came to know the band’s family name at last.

“We, _The Hemsworth Brothers_, are pleased to meet you again tonight.”

The lead singer had his eyes met Tom’s once more. Intentionally or coincidentally, his charming smile on the handsome god-like face got the observer’s nerves and was immediately imprinted into his memory-bearing part of the brain.

—TBC


	2. Thorsday Night

The illuminated light originated from numerous coloured lamps that were hanging on the ceiling for decoration weren’t enough for every single table within the bar, though, met the essential needs of the guests who craved for relaxation on Thursday night, just before the last working day of the week started to kick in.

Tom, however, wasn’t one of those office workers. There was quite a lot of freedom for him within the time frame given to get his job done. The only reason he came to the bar that night was only that during the day, while he had been looking for references from texts and books in the public library, he spotted the spine of a familiar piece of work on the shelf. Antique as it seemed outside, as if there was a spell covering the book itself, Tom couldn’t stop himself re-reading it over again like he had never had an eye on it before.

_Thorsday, in other words, the day of Thor._

A glimpse of thought went through his brain. _The Norse God, Thor_’s image in his mind was suddenly overwhelmed by the figure of that muscular lead singer on the other side of the bar.

He tried hard to make up a reason for that perception, but it didn’t really work. His brain, exhausted from the job he had been doing the whole day, was unable to gather any scattered piece of thoughts after the alcoholic drinks flew down his throat. He knew only that he wasn’t fully awake. His brain’s capability surely decreased, but still workable somehow. He was not fully drunk, at least, until a shadow of a big figure crept passed his back, stepped up to sit on the stool next to him, leisurely ordering a Jameson whiskey on the rock from the bartender whom he could probably tell they had known each other quite well.

“Your Jamie, sir, Mister Hemsworth.” The bartender laughed, then slid the glass filled with whiskey to the owner of that name who ordered a drink from him.

“I am also a Hemsworth, so I’m taking it first!” Another younger man beside that buff man reached his hand out then intentionally stole the glass before one of the Hemsworth who originally ordered the drink was able to grab it.

“Hey, Liam!” He yelled, reaching his hand out to retrieve the glass, but he was too slow. Irritatedly, he shook his head, cracking his tongue in disappointment.

“Nah… he’s your younger brother, man. Just let him go. Even your big brother hasn’t said a word.” The bartender chuckled.

“You’re favouring him too much, Evans!” The second Hemsworth mumbled. Another glass of whiskey was slid past him, but it didn’t stop at his hand.

“And this one is for the big brother.” The same bartender turned to the other Hemsworth who was sitting next to Liam, serving the glass of alcoholic drink for him.

“Hey, what about mine!?” The second Hemsworth bawled, hitting the bar counter hard with his fist, so hard that the force he used was more than enough to make the glasses quaked. He frowned, but the bartender didn’t really take him into account.

Tom, who accidentally witnessed the whole situation, then decided to slide his own Jamie on the rock that he had just ordered to the man sitting next to him as a friendly greeting.

“You can have mine if you don’t mind.” Tom greeted, but then he saw the other man’s face looked surprised, he immediately clarified himself. “This one I haven’t touched it, I swear. I ordered just a moment before you came and sat next to me. Let me treat you, I mean… your performance was extraordinary. I really enjoyed it.”

“Look, the grumpier you are, the more trouble you cause, bro!” The third Hemsworth whistled, laughed, and clapped his hands at his brother. “You are such a burden to the customer!”

The accused Hemsworth turned around to face his brother and shouted, “Shut up!” then turned back to the man who offered him a drink. His voice shifted to the softer tone that he considered the politest one. “You don’t look familiar, by the way. Is it your first time here?”

“Something along that line, yes.” Tom replied, sneakily staring those perfect blue eyes of the man beside him. They were the blue that reminded him of the glittering seawater under the sunlight in the dawn.

“I’m gonna make you another one.” The bartender interrupted, then swiftly grabbed a whiskey glass from the pile of glasses and flipped it up on the counter. “You know, I cannot possibly neglect the fact that I might have let this guy cut your queue just because he is famous around here and snatched your drink right before my eyes. It’s gonna ruin the bar’s reputation.”

“Hey Evans, watch your mouth.” The accused Hemsworth gulped the whiskey, hit the counter with the bottom of the glass, then humorously pointed his index finger at the bartender. “Your customer gave it to me himself; you saw it.”

“There are already lots of people willing to pay for you, aren’t they?” Evans argued. “And, by the way, Chris, could you please be more careful with these glasses? I don’t wanna buy a new one because of your overly expressed bragging.”

“Er… well, I must apologise if I’ve caused you any trouble.” Tom abruptly interrupted before everything went worse. “I wholeheartedly intended to treat him myself.”

“See?” The second Hemsworth—_Chris_ smirked, snuffled, then raised his eyebrows in a challenging way while chucking the rest of the whiskey. “Ahh…”

“You could have just secretly put a small amount of laxative into his glass next time.” The youngest Hemsworth grabbed the bartender’s shoulder and gave him a suggestion.

“Not that I have never thought about it though. The problem is not only with Chris,” Evans lifted Liam’s hand off his shoulder and turned to face him. “but Liam, didn’t you frequently steal his drinks for yourself?”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re planning to drug me as well!” Liam cried, but his second brother had already let out an enjoyable laughed uncontrollably.

“That’s gonna be awesome, right? Like gambling between you and I, who would be drugged. Ha…”

Tom quietly observed the whole conversation that mixed with laughter as an outsider who had no relation to any of them, until a new glass of drink was served at his hand. He unconsciously drew back a bit, blinking his eyes in confusion as a mere question to the current situation.

“It’s yours.” The second Hemsworth said, smiling, “Well, it might not be the one you ordered earlier, but trust me, this cocktail made by this guy is the very special signature of this bar.” and pointed his finger at the bartender.

But when he saw Tom hesitated to touch the glass of cocktail that was handed to him, Chris was ready to clarify things up. Because someone brought up the drugging in the drinks for bullying a while ago, he was afraid that it might scare the new customer and keep him away from the bar, and that didn’t sound good to either him or Evans and the whole bar itself.

“Well, FYI, there’s nothing to do with that laxative we teased earlier. Please.”

“No, I mean, err… I meant to buy you a drink—”

“Nah, I accidentally happened to sit here after you’d already ordered that drink. And you said you wanted to treat me? I’m not buying it.” Chris explained and slid the glass right to Tom’s hand.

“Hey…” Evans buzzed, but Chris didn’t give up.

“Give it a try. You know, I do want my friend to have some new customers too.” Chris smiled, but the man sitting beside him somehow still looked uncertain. “Or I can show you how to drink it myself if you are afraid. And we’ll have him mix another booze for you.”

Evans persistently shook his head, had nothing left to say.

“You shouldn’t push it too hard when our guest didn’t really want to, man.” The bartender grumbled then turned to face Tom, “I can make you another Jamie if you’d like. It’s totally fine.”

“Never mind.” At last, sipping the cocktail slowly, Tom gave up to the anticipated gaze from the buff man sitting beside him.

The coldness of the ice was then replaced by the heat of his body. All the veins and arteries along the flow path of alcohol modestly dilated. And all that left on the tip of his tongue was the gentle sweetness that overwhelmed the bitterness of alcohol, as if it was the taste of a gentle kiss on the lips that effortlessly enchanted him, leaving alone the dearest words lingering all over his face when his lips deliberately parted off the edge of the glass.

“See?” After Chris saw the man beside him gradually drifting, he clapped his hand and snuffled, grinning. Evans shook his head, already fed up, and a chuckle from him followed. “Oh, by the way, what’s your name? I mean, if you don’t mind telling—”

“Tom…” He replied. “My name is Tom. How about you—”

“Chris.” The buff man reached his hand out as a proper greeting. They shook their hands vigorously. “Chris Hemsworth, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Chris.”

—TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might have noted. I was writing this story with the theme of Ed Sheeran's Galway Girl. (Though it wasn't that accurate, it was the very first thing that came up before I decided to write this story—that was supposed to be a one-shot.) And yes, because Tom is an English man. And I feel like Chris could make a good country guy.
> 
> I'm not quite good at the word of choice in fiction. I know I have a limited vocab bank. I'm sorry if it made you feel like you were reading something academic because that's what I read, if available, at work, most of the time. 😅
> 
> Also, to avoid confusion, Chris refers to Chris Hemsworth (most of the time), and Evans refers to Chris Evans.


	3. Beats

The noise and laughter from the other side of the bar got Tom’s attention after he sipped the second glass of cocktail. Condensed drop of water in the air started to glide down the side of the glass, leaving behind a clear path along the way. The Hemsworth Brothers had left him and went there a while ago. Tom didn’t have any reason to stop them from leaving, nor did the topic for a nice conversation, especially when the ability to think and act perfectly was reduced by the effect of alcohol in his blood. The intake amount wasn’t enough to make him plastered and passed out, though his body was unable to remove it fast enough that he couldn’t possibly lie to himself if he was to say he wasn’t drunk.

Another loud cheering bursted out. That noise which pierced through his ears once again originated from the other side of the bar. He turned around and saw Chris chucking another shot of the brown liquor before he laughed with a group of regular customers. There was a dart board hanging on the wall a few feet away from them. Tom clumsily snatched his eyeglasses that gradually slid down his nose, pushed it back to its supposed position, trying hard to guess what had happened. But it didn’t last long before Chris turned to him, his bright blue eyes precisely gazing through the crowd, aimed and stopped perfectly at him.

Tom stunned, as if he was hypnotised by those bright blue eyes that glittered like a jewelry under the night sky filled with numerous stars.

Chris waved his hand at him, like he was trying to call him over, but Tom was too slow to respond at that moment. Chris then decided running up to him instead after he figured out.

“Aren’t you lonely sitting by yourself? Wanna come and join us?” Chris asked. The voice he used and the gestures he made were so friendly that they raised the difficulty of rejecting the invitation for Tom.

“Well, I might be boring in chattin—” Flushing red, Tom answered, unconsciously groped his chest and neck with his hand while looking up to face him. Their eyes met.

“We aren’t exactly chatting, mate. We’re playing darts. Loser treats one drink.” Chris explained. “If you wanted to treat me, why wouldn’t you join us? I’ll treat you back if you win, or if you lose, you’re gonna treat me, that’s the rule. Easy enough?”

“You can’t deceive him to get a free drink for yourself, Chris!” Evans who accidentally heard the conversation spontaneously interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Seriously…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter because he hasn’t accepted my challenge. You’re overreacting, man. I just wanted him to join us over there because he came here all alone.” Chris replied, grinning widely at the bartender’s face. “And, you know what, never once did I think he would accept the challen—”

“Fine, I’m in.”

Tom had to be responsible for his own reckless reply when his gut was faster than his mind. He stepped down the stool, standing upright and breathed out, then turned himself around to face Chris. A few inches were the distance between their eyes. He was like an inch shorter than Chris, but that wouldn’t be a huge problem when it came to darting. Anyone could play if they could effectively control their bodies.

“Hey, that was supposed to be a joke. I just wanted to ask if you’d like to sit with us. But if you’re fine with yourself then—”

Tom’s eyes behind his black-frame-eyeglasses that were shining, expressing earnestly the aggressiveness on the upcoming challenge didn’t fail to surprise Chris. Meanwhile, they were interesting, quite too much, in fact, that it urged him in a way to eagerly find every emotion that were hidden under those beautiful eyes. To Chris, they were like an amazing labyrinth of the emerald sea under the sunlight that he could possibly see the sand beneath the water, but unable to determine its depth just only by looking.

Dangerously beautiful, at the same time, tempting to be conquered.

Chris stared into Tom’s eyes, deliberately grabbing every detail in his eyes and on his face, meanwhile, Tom did the same to him, equally.

“Hey guys,” Evans coughed. He was afraid that these two big guys in front of him might cause a quarrel, “the board is over there, well, how long will it take for you two to stop staring at each other?”

“Are you challenging me to do the eyes staring game or something? Fine! Let’s do this.” Chris crossed his arms over his chest and raised one of his eyebrows, faced up a little and nodded. Never once did he stop staring at the man standing in front of him, pretending he didn’t hear what his friend told them earlier from the other side of the counter while he witnessed the whole situation.

“Winner treats, is that ok?”

Chris tilted his head, raised his eyebrows and nodded confidently in acceptance at the bet. After all these years that he had been singing, he used a lot of eye contact to express various emotions with his audience. He knew he was quite proud at it. He had never lost to any stranger, at least, if it was a fair play.

Not until he saw the shade of fragile vulnerability penetrating from behind those aggressive blue eyes in the next second, only a split second, he unconsciously looked down to his feet, avoided facing his opponent.

Disappointed, Chris flicked his tongue when he realised he had finally lost. And Tom got him this time, undoubtedly.

It was supposed to be an obvious victory for Tom, if the trick that he pretended covering his eyes with tears, being so vulnerable and intentionally let Chris seen him that way didn’t count.

“One shot,” Tom said, turning to Evans, “one shot for Chris, please.”

“Wait… what? Why are you treating me? I am the one who lost.” Chris objected, “I’m supposed to treat you.”

“I told you, winner treats. You didn’t catch it, did you?” Tom adorably laughed the iconic _E-he-he_ laugh, covering the mischievous act under his charming smile before he took the shot from the bartender and handed it to Chris. “Let me treat you properly this time.”

“Jeez…” Chris shook his head, hand sweeping his hair on his forehead backwards, then chucked the whole shot at once. He looked fidgeting, being fooled too easily. “That was tricky. How on Earth could you do that?”

“You just didn’t carefully listen to what he said. It’s not his fault, dude.” Evans shrugged, couldn’t care less.

“You’re great at kicking my ass as well, mate.” Chris grumbled at Evans and sighed before turning to Tom, “Well then, you gotta play darts with me in return, will you?”

“Deal.”

The two walked down the other side of the bar. The youngest Hemsworth were darting with the oldest Hemsworth among their friends and some other audiences. The youngest eventually got beaten by total scores counted and unwillingly had to give up the shot of some pale brown liquor.

“Good game, noobie.” In the act of comforting, Chris patted his younger brother’s shoulder (that Tom thought it was more like a sneer than comfort).

“Shuddup, bro.” Liam pushed Chris’s arm away and found himself on the seat opposite to his oldest brother, “Meh… Did you actually cheat, Luke?”

“Sorry, I think the god is with me today,” Luke shrugged, drinking another shot and put his arm behind the blond lady sitting next to him, holding her shoulder, “or maybe I just… feel so high because my spirit is here…”

Liam rolled his eyes, purging his lips out after he heard what his brother said, “Fine, you lady boaster!”

“Dude, watch your mouth. She’s probably soon-to-be your sister-in-law.” Luke replied, finger pointing at his youngest brother.

“I didn’t talk to Sam, I talked to you.”

“Liam, seems like your butt sure love to be kicked, yeah?” Chris snorted, grabbing the pile of darts which were placed on the table and handed some to Tom. “Go, get a seat, It’s my turn.”

“Wait… are you going to play with this… err… this curled-hair-man with eyeglasses whom his Jamie was nicked by you?” Liam blurted out, asking his brother when he saw Chris put some darts onto Tom’s palm.

“Right, actually it’s gingery curled-hair.” Tom instinctively licked his lips and laughed, answering the question that was not originally for him by lifting the darts in his hand.

“Why? What’s the matter?” Chris started warming up by rolling his neck and shoulders, then turned to tell something to Tom, “You can go first, by the way.”

“Not a problem for me either. I don’t really mind if I lose. It’s my pleasure to treat him… and you guys.” Tom nodded at Chris, stepping his feet towards the dart board.

“No no, I mean…” Liam’s mouth went wide open, but no sound coming out from his throat, losing the ability to find the right word to describe the situation. “Well, it’s like… I don’t really wanna see a nice guy like you…”

The first dart flying from Tom’s hand was stuck in the small area close to the bull’s eye less than a few millimeters away.

“Woah, take it easy, man.” Chris shushed, clapped his hands and gave a wide grin to the audiences nearby. Whistling happily, he poured the liquor into the tumbler.

Tom turned back, took a deep breath, sneakily smiled a mischievous smile at his success. He tricked him with a shot of whiskey when they were at the bar counter before the match started, and he was quite certain that victory wasn’t far out of his reach for this game. At least, when his opponent wasn’t fully self-conscious.

“Intimidating. What a nasty Tom you are.”

And then he turned around to face the board. There was a sound of something that pierced through the air. The wind blew his cheek. Tom’s eyes witnessed one of Chris’s darts stuck on the red bull’s eye, precisely on the middle of the board.

“Oh, well, that was a warm-up. A total fluke.” Chris sniffled, yawning, waving his hand. His face as seen through the pale light within the bar shifted red due to the liquor he drank earlier, “Let’s start over. I’ll give up this shot to you, to be fair,” then slid the glass right into Tom’s hand. “5 throws per game, one with most total points win.”

Three games later, Tom couldn’t possibly beat Chris, even though he knew Chris was supposed to be more drunk than him, and the last game they played, Chris had been sported enough to give up the bet to Tom because Tom refused to quit until he could finally had a chance to beat him.

Perhaps tonight wasn’t for him, or the god wasn’t on his side. Carelessly ignored the clues and warnings that the bartender and his opponent’s brother had given to him before the game started, Tom tried to encourage himself that way until he quickly drifted away in his dream after he reached his home, using the sofa-bed in the living room as a substitution for his real bed before the next day started rolling in and greeted him with the pale light of its dawn pouring on his eyelids.

—TBC


	4. Forgotten Title

Tom vaguely recalled what had happened last night. Heavy eyelids and dizziness were the results of him drinking too much liquor at the bar. He rolled himself to the backrest of the sofa, one hand grabbing a small pillow to hug at his chest. His favourite black coat which he wore last night was used instead of the real blanket. It couldn’t warm him better than a comforter on a soft bed though he was still lucky he didn’t forget to turn on the heater at least. Tom lazily wiped his face with his left hand and yawned, but then he immediately realised there was something that gave him a chilling touch in his right hand.

Curious enough, he lifted his right hand up and opened his eyes to see that thing he unconsciously picked up somewhere he could not precisely remind. It appeared to be a rectangular metal plate lace with the letters _K.H._ carved onto its inner surface. With its length, he guessed it looked more like a bracelet that someone might have left forgotten at the bar where he went last night. He didn’t even notice when he picked it up. One thing he could faintly remember was only defeat. He had lost all of that one-shot bet to the local guy on dart games they played.

Tom sighed, reaching his hand out for his eyeglasses that were lying flat on the floor and put it back on before he finally got up, heading for the bathroom, splashing some water onto his face hoping it could fresh him up before he dragged himself to continue his work. He kept that bracelet in the drawer of his desk in the hope to be able to find the real owner even though the bracelet itself might not probably cost merely more than a good old glass of liquor. But guessing from its worn-out appearance, he knew it could be something precious of someone, and that person might be desperately searching it only to find out that it was lost. Somehow, he felt like it could be of someone who had gone to the bar last night.

After he had done his job for the day, he decided returning back to that bar.

The Friday night’s atmosphere was perhaps livelier, more crowded than the prior night, but Tom hadn’t met the same bartender he met the day before, even the genre of live music on the stage had also changed. Other than the bar location and decoration itself, everything seemed like they had completely changed.

He didn’t see Chris on the stage, so as Liam and Luke, however, there were still many people attending the performance at the front row.

Tom finally ended his Friday night drowning in the bar’s vibe around him. Tightening his own coat while walking back home on foot under the light from the lamp posts along the road he took, his warm breath coming out from his nose and mouth collided with the coldness of the air forming loose white smokes before they floated away faded afterwards. Looking up at the night sky once again, he saw the clouds overlapping the illumination of the moon slowly flew away bit by bit, letting the soft glowing light shine brightly beautiful through the gaps in the group of clouds. It was far more scenic than that he saw when he was living in the downtown.

Closing his eyes, he leaned his back against the wall of a building, then took a deep breath, absorbing the light scent of the woods and trees in the public park on the opposite side of the road.

Unexpectedly, something reminded him of that pair of bright blue eyes reflecting the light of a lamp, shining as bright as the moon at previous night.

—

Tom decided to quit searching for the owner of that bracelet after he went to the bar three nights in a row. No one knew about it, no worker in the bar who was familiar with someone that had the abbreviated name _K.H._ Or if there was, neither one owned a bracelet, nor told them that their bracelet was lost. Another bartender told him that it might be of an irregular customer or a traveller who unintentionally forgot it. Nothing needed any special care. Then he told Tom that he should enjoy his nightlife in this bar rather than keep trying to find the owner of that bracelet until the night was over.

Monday morning, Benedict—one of Tom’s closest friend came to visit him with his hands full of cakes and desserts.

“Hi, posh, never get tired living outside the downtown, huh?” That was the first line Ben used to greet him when they finally saw each other on the other side of the front door.

“Doesn’t sound like you dislike it though, visiting me here every month.” Tom replied, laughing while handing out to help his friend carry those bags of souvenirs after a greeting hug. “And what are these huge number of the bags you carry?”

“Well, I happened to pass a bakery shop with a very long queue, perhaps it might be a tasty one. Moreover, I think you might wanna eat something delicious during the upcoming holiday so, I decided buying you these as Christmas presents as well.”

“What would you like me to do?” Tom squinted his eyes, sniffling, knowing his friend too well. “You probably wouldn’t buy them just to give it to me, would you?”

Benedict flicked his tongue, sighed, about to continue but then shut his mouth all of sudden. When he finished arranging the thing he wanted to say, he then wrapped his arm around Tom’s shoulder, pushing him back to the living room. “It’s probably a long story, let’s have a seat and talk about it.”

After Benedict had finally taken off both his coat and scarf, Tom returned from the kitchen with a small plate and a pair of forks. Ben was the one who took out from the paper box the cheesecake, which he queued up for a long while in order to buy from a bakery shop, and put it on that plate, pouring the strawberry sauce on top of it and handed the plate to Tom to have him tried.

“How was it?” Ben was too eager to know the answer, so he instantly asked Tom, “Worth the money?”

Tom then nodded, munching the cake. “Good… well, I mean, delicious.”

“I thought people were just stocking them for the holiday because, you know, the day after tomorrow is going to be Christmas. I didn’t really have high hope on its taste.” Ben squinted his eyes, knowing the gentlemanly manner of his friend too well that he just couldn’t believe it at the first go. “But answer me frankly, you only said it was delicious, or it _is_ actually delicious?”

Tom moved the plate over to Ben and laughed before he slowly sipped his tea. “I think you should try it yourself, but for me, it _is_ genuinely delicious.”

“_My god._” Ben muttered, covering his mouth with his own hand after he ate a big bite of that cheesecake.

“See? I’m not exaggerating.”

“I... perhaps I should move here with my family. It’s not a bad idea at all, what do you think?” Ben seemed mused while the one sitting opposite him burst out laughing.

“But Sophie works in the downtown, doesn’t she?”

“I mean like, the kids’ school holiday. I guess they would love this bakery shop.”

“You should buy them some on the way home.” Tom suggested.

“Guess it’s not that easy. By the time I go back, almost every shop might be closed, I guess, because I came to see you first.”

“Oh, I think I’ve told you earlier that you could contact me via phone or e-mail. You don’t have to come to see me face to fa—”

“How’s the screenplay you’ve written so far?” Ben interrupted, and that caused Tom jaw-dropped, but there was no excuse spoken. “…Christ.”

“I’m sorry, I… I was drowned in the sea of Thor and Loki reference in the Norse mythology. But you don’t have to worry, I will definitely have it done in time.” Tom apologised, instantly replied with a firm promise to his friend.

“I know,” coughed Ben, his face gradually shifted from carefree to careful before he started to speak about something more serious, “but today I’m not coming here just for that screenplay.”

When Tom finally caught the change, he then carefully put the fork in his hand on the edge of the plate. Leaning his back on the backrest and crossed his arms, he waited for his friend to speak the true matter of this visit.

“I want you to get the lead role of a play.”

Silence slowly dominated the whole conversation that it started to feel uncomfortable. Tom didn’t accept or instantly reject the offer. He blinked a few times while looking at his friend’s face through his eyeglasses, licking his lips before folding them inwards. Taking a deep breath, his thumb and forefinger were used to adjust the frame of his eyeglasses back to its original place. He raised one of his eyebrows when his fingers were running from his chin to his forehead, using his thumb to support the rest of his face at the cheekbone. It took him a long while to give out a reply that the one asking started to feel uneasy and distressed.

“Well, it’s just a request, somehow I want you to consider it deliberately,” Ben quickly added more information, “I mean, everyone wants to see you return to the stage.”

“Is that why you bribe me with these sweets and cakes, trying to persuade me to accept the deal?” Tom spoofed but didn’t stare at his friend while playing with the corner of a sofa pillow next to him.

“I couldn’t possibly say that… It’s all up to what you think it is,” replied Ben, eating one more bite of the cheesecake, “I can’t force you to accept it anyway. I just asked for your cooperation, that is all.”

Tom sighed, shaking his head, “You know I’ve quit theatrical performance for years.”

“You can always return if you want to. Besides, that thing that happened a long time ago, it wasn’t your fault.” Ben repeated and patted his friend’s shoulder firmly. “You don’t need to give me the answer right away. Just… at least please considerably take it into your account.”

“What about the screenplay?”

“I can find another substitution for your part, if you want to go bac—”

“Ben, I mean the role in the play that you want me to go for.”

Ben was about to reveal the fact, but he suddenly stopped, pointing his forefinger at his friend, “Well, I’ll tell you about it later after you officially accept the offer.”

“Hey,” Tom’s mouth went wide open. Surprised, he sighed and admitted that his friend’s negotiation skill is undoubtedly witty and impressive. “You know, I couldn’t possibly make a decision if you don’t give me enough details.”

Ben shrugged, raising his eyebrows before eating another bite of the cheesecake. At the corner of his eyes, he saw Tom making an unsettled face, somehow, he spotted a huge amount of curiosity on it as well.

“I’m not going to force you on this one but I think you might love it, and that is why I’m here,” raising his eyebrows, Ben smiled at Tom again, but for Tom, it seemed more like a trick of a mischievous person who tried to lure him to fall for it. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something. This play is entirely a fundraiser for the sake of those apprentice actors and actresses in our drama school. All profit after any deduction will be transferred.”

“And why don’t you take the role in the play yourself?” Tom questioned him back, picking up the pillow he played with his hand and put it on his lap, placing his arms over it.

“Oh…? I don’t think I’ve told you that.”

“Or you are in this production as well, I guess?”

“I can’t possibly tell you that either.” Ben’s lips curled into a cocky smile. Looking at his friend, Tom froze for a few second then shook his head at the trick his friend had used. “Not until you accept the offer and sign the contract, evidently.”

Tom let out a long sigh, muttering to god. He rolled his blue eyes up to the light on the ceiling for a short while before he closed his eyes, sliding his own fingers under the frame of his eyeglasses, massaging his eyelids in the hope to reduce the tension and stress accumulated around that area.

“Tom, look, I’ve known you for years. Trust me, you are perfectly fit for this role,” rubbing his own hands together, Ben couldn’t be more persuasive.

“Let me sleep over it.” Tom replied, knowing too well that his friend had accurately hit him right at his soft spot. He shouldn’t be surprised, but he still did somehow. All these sweets bribery and charity stuff, he had always been sensitive for them.

“Alright, I will bother you no more then.” Ben clapped his hands on his laps, nodded at Tom’s answer and finally stood up, stepping back a bit and let his friend took time on the decision. “By next month, call me when you’re ready to give me the answer.”

“Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m going back to this bakery shop and see if there is anything left that I could buy. Or else I’d eat all of yours.” Ben chuckled, sliding the plate with less-than-a-half piece of cheesecake back to Tom. “And I know you’re pretty much capable of completing your part by the deadline, so no worries I guess, though sometimes you might need a little tap on them.”

Tom shrugged, sighed, undeniably realised that Ben knew him too well.

They chatted about a few other things while they were heading to the front door, blessing each other for a great day with a warm smile and a tight embrace before they eventually parted.

“Wish there were some left at the shop by the time you arrive there.”

“Thanks. I’m hoping to get good news from you as well.” Ben grinned a grin that made his eyes squinted, “Oh right, if there’s anything about the screenplay that you want to keep up, send me an e-mail right away. But don’t expect me to reply immediately, that’s all.”

“Use your precious time wisely with your own family before you have no time left to drive a car around here.” Tom ironically laughed, being sassy as he always did before waving his hand at his friend, “See you later.”

“I’ll take that as a bless,” frowned, Ben squinted again, but with a light smile at the corner of his lips, knowing that his witty friend had got him. “See you.”

“Bye.”

Tom then returned to the living room to eat up the rest of that cheesecake. Sweetness from sugar within it unbelievably cleared up his mind (if the bias that he was originally fond of sweets and often craved for them didn’t count). What he had known so far from Benedict, this bakery shop might be just a few blocks away from his house. He saw the shop’s logo printed at the top of another paper box in the bag Ben gave him.

That moment, he suddenly knew he had got another destination he must go once in a lifetime.

_Kip’s_

—TBC


	5. Lost and Found

Having the to-buy list ready, Tom decided to drive his car to purchase some festive lights and some other Christmas decorations for his home in that afternoon when he had already finished his talk with Benedict. Most local shops were already closed a few days earlier, and that left him who had just had some free time only an outbound larger department store that wasn’t too far away from where he lived.

Five minutes after he had left his home, the navigation system he was using went busted. He took the wrong turn at the junction and what he saw with his own eyes had nothing familiar to that of the GPS coordinates shown on the screen. He had no choice but to pick up a map he kept in the glove box, lowering the side window while scanning the area for some road signs in order to identify his actual position. Since he had moved here, Tom admitted that other than walking or mostly using public transports to go around the town, he rarely drove his car that he almost forgot how to start the engine for real.

However, the opposite side of the road lay that certain bakery shop Benedict had mentioned and bought him Christmas presents (or bribery, he wasn’t quite sure). Tom could precisely remember its logo, so as the taste and smell lingering on his tongue which he could hardly forget.

Tom averted his eyes from the shop’s closed front door to his current problem. While he had been busy searching the map, there was someone knocking the mirror on the left side of the car. Startled and surprised, he quickly turned to that side, raised his eyebrows, lowering the window of his car down just before he heard a friendly greeting coming to his ears prior to seeing his face. It was a strangely familiar voice to him somehow.

“Are you lost or something, spreading the map like that? Perhaps you need a hand?”

“Oh, yes, please. I’ve just moved here not so long ago—” Tom looked up and turned to face the man who coincidentally lowered his head down to look through the window of the parked car and the driver within.

“Tom? Hey, is that the Tom whom I’ve met at _Captain’s Bar_ the other night?” The man’s facial expression was full of surprise when he saw the driver’s face, didn’t expect to meet him at that moment.

“Hey…Chris? Are you Chris Hemsworth?” Tom repeated the question. His reaction wasn’t anything less than Chris’s. He didn’t have any clue that it would be possible to meet him this quick, not even the chance of him being able to remember his face.

“That’s correct!”

“You were the one challenging me to play darts, right?”

“I practically challenge everyone. Couldn’t remember, actually,” shrugged and raised his eyebrows casually, Chris placed his arms at the top edge of the electric window, pointing at the map, “Anyway, where are you heading for?”

“Well, I’m going to the store buying some Christmas decorations, but my GPS seems like it has just gone busted so…”

“Turn right at the next block, and go straight, then you take a left turn at the third intersection. After you drive past the first convenience store, turn right, straight pass another intersection before you turn left again, and then—”

“Sorry, wait…” Tom apologetically cut him off, rolling his eyes, nervous, with his mouth wide open when he couldn’t follow all the directions Chris had told him.

“I can be a good guide for you around here, by the way,” Chris blinked at Tom before he continued, “I mean if you don’t mind…”

“Wouldn’t that bother you too much?” replied Tom, folding his lips inwards, frowning. Hesitation was plastered on his face. “And I think I could faintly remember that the directions weren’t probably this complicated. Do you, by any chance, have any alternative routes available?”

Chris flicked his tongue when he realised that this guy looked as sharp as his appearance and consciously aware of the tricks he used, so he decided to tell the truth in the end, “Straight forward for about 4 miles, take a right turn to the main street, drive through the intersection for another half a mile then there you are.”

“And what about that earlier…”

Chris gave him a big smile and chuckled, continued the talk as if nothing happened, “No big deal, I was just tricking you. Perhaps you could have me accompanied as a navigator, something like that.”

“Do you really need to do it this far?” Tom frowned as he squinted his eyes at the cunning reply Chris had given to him. He sighed before his face turned vulnerable and let the silence overwhelmed them both until Chris started to feel distressed about what he had done to him.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you like that.” Chris abruptly babbled out right after he saw Tom’s face. If he could put the dog’s ears on Tom’s head, he would probably have seen him with drooping ears and tail, also that disheartening eyes that he somehow had a soft spot for. He could precisely recall that he had already lost the eye-staring challenge to Tom with this exact expression a few nights earlier in the bar. Chris admitted he had lost bits of his confidence after that event, and history was going to repeat itself here and then. “Well, actually… I was planning to go to the store as well, but I am too lazy to drive my own car there so…”

“If you don’t mind and tell me right away in the first place, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick you up”

“Does that supposed to mean right now I can’t go with you…?”

“I don’t think I have said that either, so please do not assume it that way,” replied Tom, hadn’t turned off the engine, he unbuckled the seatbelt, almost jumped off his car and stood up high, looking over the roof until their eyes met.

The owner of the sky-blue eyes blinked in surprise, unable to figure out what was going to happen next that it made him looked so dull.

“The hell you are doing?” Chris stepped back from the car, raised an eyebrow in curiosity, mystified by Tom’s unpredictable move.

Tom laughed an _e-he-he_ laugh instead of a proper answer before he continued, “Well, you’ve just said you could be my navigator, haven’t you?” then walked around the front of his car to Chris and opened the door on the passenger’s side. “Could you possibly navigate and drive the car at the same time? Is it too much for me to ask from you?”

“Woah, you know, that was just a tease, and now you’re asking me to be your driver?”

“In exchange, you don’t have to pay in order to go on the journey, and I have my navigator secured, isn’t that fair enough?”

Chris went silence for a few seconds. He couldn’t possibly lie that he couldn’t drive a car, and the offer that Tom had given to him wasn’t bad either. But in the end, if he were to get back here, he still needed to pay his own return fare, and at holiday festival like this, the dispatching frequency of the public buses would decrease without any question.

His gut was faster than his mind; Chris intuitively requested, “Then you have to drive me back here as well...”

Tom raised his eyebrows, didn’t expect Chris to be this serious, and there it was, another _e-he-he_ laugh out of nowhere, “Didn’t know you were quite thoughtful, eh?”

Chris was fast enough to catch that sassy smile on his face before it quickly disappeared. He frowned, sceptically calling out the other’s name, “Tom…”

“I’m joking, I’m joking…” Tom was still laughing a mischievous laugh that somehow seemed too adorable at the same time while he patted Chris on his strong shoulder, “Let’s get in, I’ll be driving.”

Chris couldn’t move, unable to grasped Tom’s actual purpose until Tom poked him once again before he finally knew what happened.

“And what about you driving me back…”

“Of course, I can. If you don’t mind waiting for me to finish my shopping list.”

Chris scratched his head awkwardly, repeating the fact he had just realised, “Let’s make it clear. Does this mean I can go with you?”

Tom laughed once again before he helped to push this buff man into the passenger seat in his car. He glanced at him, gave an adorable smile which made his cheeks become almost spherical in shape, tinted with pale red contrasted to his fair skin. Hidden neatly under the bright greenish-blue eyes was a part of playfulness that was opposed to what Chris witnessed when he had been teasing him earlier.

“Of course, you can! We could save more fuel this way.”

Eventually, Chris guessed he had already fallen for Tom’s adorable _e-he-he_ laugh.

“Would you mind if I sing along while also guiding you to the store?” Chris instantly turned to Tom right after Tom got back to his driver seat, “Straight ahead, by the way.”

“You can just draw the route on the map.” Tom looked up after he finished fastening his seatbelt, pointing at Chris, “Your seatbelt, please.”

Chris followed his direction easily, but he still insisted on what he wanted to do, “Look, I’m going to sing for you, free of charge, aren’t you interested?”

“Well, that was very kind of you but…”

“By the way, what’s your favourite type of music? Which genre?” asked Chris, curiously looking around. He then spotted a cd box near the gear lever so he quickly picked it up, and after he saw its cover, he couldn’t help but mumbled, “Oh, look… it’s _Hank Williams._ That’s quite outdated, isn’t it?”

“Well…” Tom was about to give out an explanation, but he was interrupted beforehand.

“I mean, it’s not that bad, actually. You know, I sometimes perform his songs as well.”

“At the bar?” Tom asked, slowly started driving along the road, unable to look at the other man’s face.

“I’m not trying to show off or anything, by the way, but do you know that I can play violin?”

Tom raised his eyebrows, objected, “But Hank Williams played guitar, didn’t he?”

“His songs comprised of more than a guitar, you know,” argued, Chris tried to figure out how to put the cd into the audio player in the car and selected one of the tracks just to confirm his premise, “like this _Movin’ on Over_, the intro started with violin!” then humming the said song along with clapping his hands rhythmically on his lap.

At first, it was as if his privacy was slightly intimidated, but with Chris, Tom felt like the relation gap between strangers, between him and Chris, that slowly became acquaintances had quickly narrowed down, probably faster than he had expected, considering from the actual duration they had met each other. Less than a night. And somehow, he believed that he could feel the warmth surrounded by humorous laugh radiated from the man sitting beside him, from that cheerful smile all the time. It made him felt like being under the warmth of the first summer sun after a long gloomy winter. Not a single thought in his mind could evidently support that he disliked Chris’s manners. Say, for Tom, Chris probably had something so attractive, or it was just him having a weak spot for a person like Chris…

Tom realised his privilege over some other people when he heard Chris singing live in his own car for free, besides, it was one of his all-time favourite songs.

Chris then turned to Tom after he had done singing the first verse of the song.

“C’ mon, stop making a serious face. Let’s sing along.” Chris grabbed a bottle of water from the door socket and used it as a microphone alternative before he continued singing the next verse, didn’t really care much if Tom was listening—or even annoyed.

“Well, no, thanks. I’m…”

“Drive straight through the next junction, by the way,” Chris stretched his hand out after he navigated him, holding that bottle before Tom’s mouth, “C’ mon, man, sing the next verse! I know you can!”

“I’m driving—”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you can’t sing while you drive. Oh really, I should accept your offer and be your driver in the first place.” Chris provoked a direct challenge. And he guessed it worked when he spotted Tom’s eyebrows twitched.

Another challenge, a direct one right in front of his face. Tom could never give up, no, not without even a single try.

His competitive intuition couldn’t bear being scorned…

—

They arrived at the parking lot near the store when around the fifth song had ended, then followed by the sixth song. Tom panted, not because he was tired at driving, but they took turn bawling out the lyrics singing the songs insanely without no one who tended to give up to one another. And Chris (who generally had the odds being a singer) relentlessly went along.

However, Tom wouldn’t mind Chris singing with his full potential because he knew a victory that was achieved while realising that his opponent had laid his guard down wasn’t probably a rightful victory that he could be proud of.

“Didn’t know you can do yodels,” Chris took a deep breath, felt his throat was so parched that he had to drink the water in order to quench his thirst, then offered that half-filled bottle he used as a microphone dummy to Tom, “And perhaps a stubborn rival.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you,” after Tom had done parking his car, he smiled at him, taking the bottle of water from his hand and gulped the rest of it, “But I couldn’t possibly beat you on this one, I must admit. You win, definitely.” and he ended up with his iconic laugh again.

Chris paused—_he swore no one could have laughed more adorably than this guy_, then his chuckles followed while he took back the empty bottle from Tom’s hand, “Well, for an amateur like you, that was impressive,” and winked at him with his thumb up as a hearty compliment.

Tom humbly accepted his defeat. His greenish-blue eyes that were locked on Chris’s face covered with indignity mixed with great admiration more than any words he had said.

“Anyway, would you rather go alone, and we meet later at some time before we head back?” After a short pause in the conversation, keeping the promise earlier, Tom asked to make sure if Chris still wanted to go back with him.

“Sounds good. I must buy something as well, and if that’s more comfortable to you then—” Chris hadn’t completed his answer when Tom suddenly jumped out of his car and almost ran to another parked car on the opposite side, “Hey! Wait! W–Where are you going?”

Chris understood Tom’s intention a moment later when he saw an elderly man struggling with the plastic pine tree and some other Christmas decorations that he tried to load from the shopping cart into his car boot. Tom, being a fine gentleman as always, offered a helping hand until that old man could drive his car out safely without hitting any other cars.

Of course, recklessly running out like that, Tom had completely forgotten his car key that was still intact in the ignition switch. And if Chris was to steal his car, he could have done it right away… He believed Tom was a generous person (from a limited memory that he had experienced himself when Tom offered him a whiskey shot at Evan’s bar, and then picked him up and drove him there, not to mention that Tom had just offered him a return ride). Somehow, one thing Chris was kind of worried was that sometimes Tom was just too reckless, even though in his opinion Tom was considered big, tall, and only about an inch shorter than him, obviously, Tom was charismatic. That soft energy radiated from Tom’s charming smile was enchanting, totally different from his because Chris knew he wasn’t one who could always be generous to any unfamiliar faces.

Chris then removed Tom’s car key and kept it in his pocket as an assurance item that he would be able to go back with Tom if Tom didn’t ask for it first.

Tom then returned. Apologising was the first thing he did, “I must apologise that I hadn’t told you before I ran off.” And repeated the question he asked him earlier, “By the way, I have already made a list of to-buy things so I think it would probably take me an hour or two, I mean if the checkout line wasn’t too long.”

“Oh? Then we can stick together, I guess.” Chris made up his mind, stepping out of the car and closed the door.

Tom realised that he must lock the car with the car remote, so he searched every pocket from one on his shirt to two sides and two backs of his trousers. He couldn’t find it, of course, so he continued searching for it on the floor to see if he accidentally dropped it somewhere. He still couldn’t find it and started to get nervous when he finally found out that the car key wasn’t with him anymore. He had lost it.

“The key—”

Chris let him do the search for a while before he snickered and finally returned the key, hanged the keyring on his finger before Tom’s face, “You should be more careful next time, you know? Look, if I were a thief, you could have lost your car.”

“Thank god…” Tom stammered, his mouth opened wide, “I was extremely panicked. Chris, I’m sorry I was such a burden. And thanks for the warning, unreservedly. I’ll try to be more careful next time.”

“Don’t take it too seriously, man. I didn’t mean to steal your car for real,” Chris readily excused, afraid that Tom could misunderstand his intention, and Tom, as far as he witnessed the whole situation, was obviously getting nervous that he had to apologise him. “I’m sorry I made you panicked.”

“No, not at all, it was completely my fault. I’m sorry.”

“Tom.” Chris calmly called out Tom’s name, trying to get his nerve back intact.

“Err… yes?”

Chris took a few seconds staring into Tom’s eyes, an entirely peaceful and steady stare that could bear the world of the other one, “You alright?” and when he began to see his eyes slowly reverted back to their normal state, he just swung his arm around Tom’s shoulder, forcing them both to start walking, “Let’s get going.”

“Ah… Sorry I was…”

“Enough with the apologising, please.” Chris murmured, sniffled, and squeezed Tom’s shoulder, “Have you locked your car yet, by the way?”

Turned around directly to his car, Tom pressed the lock button on his car remote. The turn signal blinked a few times, showed him that it had already received the command. Tom then turned back to face Chris, smiling softly.

“Thanks for the double-check.”

“Could you possibly say anything else other than ‘thanks’ or ‘sorry’?”

“Chris…”

The owner of that name raised his eyebrows, surprised, “Wise choice, indeed.” then snickered, “I can’t believe you, really…”

“Well, at least I didn’t say ‘thanks’ or ‘sorry,’ did I?” Tom replied, grinned a wide grin that made his cheek went pale red, spherical, and almost completely covered the whole line of his cheekbone.

“All right, all right, I yield...”

Other than the adorable iconic laugh, Chris thought that Tom’s smiles also deserved no less protection.

—TBC


	6. Siblings

Chris’s phone rang after he and Tom had already done checking out the items they had picked up at the cashier. Liam was the one who called him. He told Chris that he had arrived at the store and was about to buy some more items requested by their mother. But he was surprised that his brother was already there. In fact, Chris had already bought what their mother needed and was about to go home.

“You said you were coming, but the car was still there in the garage. I thought you went up to see some other chicks,” was the first greeting from Liam. “But in fact, you are with a guy, huh?”

“Stop it. You know I’m trying to save more fuel.” Chris struck back sarcastically, but Liam didn’t seem to care.

“And how come you both meet each other?” curiously, Liam continued questioning.

“Actually, I got lost, and Chris happened to be around at that moment. He was about to come here as well so I picked him up at my own will. And in return, he was my navigator, sort of,” said Tom, retelling everything at once before he turned to Chris. “Didn’t you tell your brother that you were coming with me?”

“I was about to, but…”

“A solid amnesia, ha?”

“Well, I was having too much fun singing with him,” Chris pointed his finger at Tom, on the other hand, Tom had a little shock when he had just realised he was accused, unable to find his own voice.

“Oh? And then you were defeated, huh?”

“Could you please just shut up for me once in a while?” grunted Chris, couldn’t get madder at his brother, knowing Liam was just trying to annoy him as always, “And then we walked around doing shopping…”

“So that’s why you forgot to text me, right?”

“Something like that.”

“And that’s also why you didn’t read my message.”

“I’m sorry,” Tom interrupted, “I didn’t intend to cause you two any problem.”

“There, again.” Chris squinted his eyes. He had just told him about this earlier, but Tom seemed unchanged, saying sorry no less, “Let me tell you once. This matter has nothing to do with you!”

“Woah, have you ever been overprotecting your own siblings like that?” snatched the chance to bite back, Liam was having fun teasing his brother.

“All right, okay. I’m sorry I forgot to text you.” Chris cut him off annoyingly, accepting it was his own fault and turned to Tom, “See? I’m probably addicted to you saying sorry all the time, otherwise, he wouldn’t hear me apologising him easily.”

“You are accusing Tom of your fault, aren’t you?”

“I told you he has nothing to do with this, and it was my own fault, are you good with that yet?” Chris grunted, more like roared, that it made people began staring at them, “Just go home already.”

“Err—” Tom blurted out when the bracelet which he picked up the other night timely came up to his mind, so he quickly asked them, “Do any of you know anyone with the abbreviated name _K.H._ who might happen to be present at the bar on last Thursday night?”

Surprised, the two Hemsworths turned to face each other at the same time, thinking about the question they had just heard without saying anything.

“Your girl, bro!” Liam instantly came up, “Kat Hems—_Ouch!_”

“The hell was that,” Chris frowned, jerked his brother with his elbow, “Obviously, she doesn’t have a crush on me, and I didn’t like her in that sense. We are just friends, you hear me? Just friends!”

“Meh, you know that was just a joke, man.”

“Oh? I’m not like you anyway when Miley was already obvious and you were such a dumbass hesitating without making any solid move, ha!”

Liam was about to swing a punch at his brother’s arm, but Chris seemed so carefree that he could easily evade the attack just on time.

Chris would probably drag his brother out of the store if Tom wasn’t standing there waiting for the answers. It would be rude if they both left him like that. And whatever the reason it was, Chris didn’t want to stain the first impression between himself and this curled-hair gentleman, at least it must not be because of his doings (and Liam’s). Chris didn’t understand why he felt that way. Well, it didn’t mean he cared. All he was doing was only following his own gut more than his brain.

“_K.H._, huh? Practically there should be, but I couldn’t think of any name right now so, sorry about that,” Chris replied to Tom after he managed to take care of Liam, then he asked him back, “By the way, does they have anything related to you in any sense?”

“Oh, I found something that looked like a stainless bracelet that was carved with the letters mentioned, but I’m not sure where did I find it. Perhaps at the bar or the park where I had walked past on the way home that night.” Tom explained and then paused for a while before he continued, “It looks quite old, so I think it might be something important to its owner. Perhaps that person is still searching for it.”

“Have you asked Evans—I mean the bartender named Evans whom we’d met that night?” Chris frowned, clenching his fist loosely, thinking. The side of his index finger was placed on his lips.

“I’ve gone to the bar since last Friday night to last night, haven’t had a chance to meet him anywhere.”

“Well then, I’ll lead you to Evans. If it had proven to be of a regular customer, he would have said something. That way we could reach the real owner faster.”

“Hey, have you two forgotten that I’m here as well?” Liam interrupted, waving his hand between the other two’s faces.

“And for you, Liam,” Chris turned to face his brother, pushing Liam’s hand on his shoulder away, “go back where you came from.”

Liam was speechless, almost spat out the f-word, but he was quick enough to keep his mouth shut grudging at his brother.

“Oh, right, I don’t have it with me at the moment, by the way. Let’s sort things out later when it’s more comfortable for us, shall we? Besides, it’s going to be a long holiday so—” Tom stammered when he felt the rise of some tension among them, so he tried suggesting another way out because he didn’t want an unnecessary quarrel between the Hemsworth brothers. Consciously, he knew that being the cause of the run-in between these two giants wouldn’t seem anywhere pleasant, even less pleasant when he had to be the peacemaker with his physical strength that was likely to be at the least.

“Tom.”

“Err… yes?”

“Are you afraid?”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

“That I and this guy are going to fight each other.” Chris raised his hand to hit Liam’s chest. Liam then pushed his brother’s hand away in return. “We fight each other a lot, in case you don’t know. It’s absolutely normal.”

“I would rather not say it _IS_ normal!” Tom suddenly disputed, raising his voice a little higher but not too much that it could draw people’s attention. Chris and Liam, on the other hand, after they paused, faced each other for a while, burst out laughing. Tom’s jaw dropped and then he went completely speechless. One thing that noticeably changed was his pale face that went flushed.

“Why are you teasing him like this, bro!?” Liam laughed hard, so hard that he curled up and almost went hyperventilated while laughing. He reached his arm out to huddle his brother and used him as a standing support before he continued, “Well, that’s the fact. I and Chris have been having a lot of run-ins since we were young, but we both know which one is serious and which one isn’t. No need to panic.”

To be honest, Tom didn’t have much experience living with his male siblings. There were only two sisters in his family, one older and one younger than him. He couldn’t possibly imagine fighting his own siblings until they were injured. (Tom admitted that he would rather protect his own sisters than fight against them). The kind of relationship that Chris and Liam had was Greek to him. And he didn’t see the possibility of them having a lot of run-ins and still managed to get along well with each other. However, he knew he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover this time.

“Any siblings you have?” Chris asked.

“Only sisters, one older and one younger.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I’ve got only this guy and Luke, my older brother. No sisters.”

“Aren’t we getting a sister-in-law?” Liam pointed out Luke’s girlfriend.

“It’s not the same, you know,” Chris muttered, trying to lift Liam’s arm that crossed past his shoulders off. “Now just go home. Mum’s waiting. Oh, and don’t forget to take her stuff with you too.”

“And how are you going back?”

“With Tom, of course. I have to lead him to Evans,” replied Chris, turning to Tom asking for reassurance, “if you don’t mind or annoy me first.”

“No problem, but wouldn’t that bother you too much?”

“If I could help you out, I would absolutely be happy to.”

Chris ended the conversation with his smile, a soft warming smile which could rarely be seen. Even Liam was kind of surprised because he didn’t know his brother had this kind of soft spot, but he halted himself before he could make fun of him. Meanwhile, Tom smiled back in return. It was a smile that could easily be seen through his eyes and lips. He thanked them both heartily before they finally split up and walked to their cars as they decided a while ago.

Chris never considered Tom to be even softer than he was in the afternoon when they met. Not until he saw that smile with his own eyes. It was a smile that could easily find a shortcut to his heart. For a moment, he wished his brain could memorise that warm gentle smile forever and a day.

After they parted off with Liam in the evening, they walked back to Tom’s car, loaded the decoration items in the shopping cart into Tom’s car boot, along with snacks, sweets, and a lot of desserts. This time Chris offered to be a driver instead, but Tom politely rejected the offer with a soft pinch that Chris dared him to sing a song while he was driving earlier. (And he didn’t know if Chris could catch it in the end). At least during their return journey, Chris didn’t ask him to do anything crazy. All he did was only softly humming along with the played audio in the car.

Winter’s night seemed to get dark a few hours earlier. The temperature in degree Celsius went down to one digit. But the sky was so clear, specifically when it was the road out of the town and there were only a few cars running along, not so busy like the downtown full of cars and dust densely floating in the air. Tom slowly decelerated the speed of his car and took some time looking around sightseeing the sides of the road and the dim sky painted with stars until he eventually noticed that the humming sound from the man in the passenger seat had vanished, and that was when he turned his gaze back to him.

Under Chris’s coat, Tom saw Chris’s chest waving in a modest rhythm. His head was leaned against the window frame, his eyes were closed, and a small bunch of his blond hairline covered part of his forehead and eyebrows. Chris had already been unconsciously taking a nap, out of nowhere.

Tom smiled to himself when he saw Chris sleeping like that. He shook his head, not in a displeased way but preferably adoring. He decided not to wake him up and chose to continue driving his car back to the destination. Chris then startled himself awake, fingers roughly rubbing his own eyes when he felt the car had stopped moving.

“I was about to wake you up, Chris, I picked you up from here, right?” asked Tom while he politely let out a soft chuckle.

“Ah yes, that’s right, but… well, we’ve already driven past Evan’s house…” Chris yawned before raising one of his hand up, fingers digging into his own blond hair and repeatedly stroke it until it got even messier. “For god’s sake, why didn’t you wake me up earlier!?”

“It’s ok, Chris. I think I can run into him at the bar later, nothing you need to worry about.” replied Tom, looking up the sky through the window, “Besides, I had spent most of the time sightseeing as well, and when I came to realise, I’ve already reached here.” and ended with his adorable iconic laugh again, “The sky is clear, and the stars I’ve seen are extraordinary special.”

Chris stared at Tom’s face. The lamps on the side of the road weren’t giving out enough light for him to clearly see his face that he couldn’t detect if Tom was being honest or was lying. It didn’t seem like he would figure that out easily as well.

For one second, Chris thought that if what Tom had said was real, and he had enough courage to ask Tom to go out stargazing together to prove it with him, or to see the starlight glittering in his eyes, that would probably turn out to be an extraordinary impressive memory.

Chris could only think and had to shed that strangely unreasonable thought out of his mind, although he couldn’t run away from the fact that he began feeling enchanted by that invisible soft glow radiating from Tom’s eyes.

“I can’t believe you…” sighed Chris, no more words for Tom’s too-nice-manner, “Well, I guess I’ve figured out who is that _K.H._ you’re searching for.”

“Oh really?”

“You have a sweet tooth, eh?” asked Chris, out of nowhere.

Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise after he heard the question, but he still gave an answer, “Absolutely. By the way, why do you ask just now?”

“Trust me, you’ll probably bump into them one day,” clapping his hands against his laps, Chris then tightened his coat before he unlocked the door and prepared to get off the car, “Merry Christmas, and thank you for driving me back right here.”

“Merry Christmas! But hey, wait… do you know the owner—”

“You see that shop over there?” Chris pointed his index finger at the bakery shop across the road. Tom guessed it was the same shop that Benedict had bought some bakeries from in the late morning.

Confusing, Tom stared at the shop which Chris continuously pointed out. Chris couldn’t see his face, but he could easily guess how Tom’s face would look like from the tone of Tom’s reply, full of curiosity.

“Yes?”

Chris finally opened the door, stepping out with his unusually long legs before he turned to face Tom with a smile before he gave out an answer for the last time in that day.

“Might be of that shop’s owner. Well, I think you should drop by before you run into Evans.”

—TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: Chris and Tom are both sweet teeth. They love to eat desserts.
> 
> Tom has a soft spot for cakes if I recall correctly. There is a video clip of James Corden and Tom available on youtube where Tom dipped his finger into the cheesecake and then sucked it deliciously. (And he made the whole studio screamed just for that.)
> 
> And Chris was once (or perhaps more, I don't know lol) teased by his own wife (Elsa) when he had to lose a lot of his weight for his role in the film 'In the Heart of the Sea,' and she kind of ate chocolates in front of him even she knew it would upset Chris because he couldn't eat any of them due to the strict diet... (I read this from some interview I couldn't remember. But it was fun to imagine that, you know. 😂)
> 
> Oh, regarding Liam and Miley, this story was written before they split up so yeah, in this fic I'll leave them unchanged. I love them as a couple, I really do...


	7. Biscuit Lover

Tom video called his family on the first day of that long holiday when they were travelling abroad, asking how they were doing during the journey, and checked if everything was fine as he always did every time he called them. After he hung up the call, he took an opportunity for a walk outside his house to gather some inspirations for the play he was going to write next. Benedict contacted him later via e-mail after the holiday period had ended with a photo of his happy family—his wife and two sons feasting at the table. There was a pine tree which was decorated as a Christmas tree rounded by decoration lights and topped with a big golden star carved with the word _Merry Christmas._ (Benedict added later that he had been constantly looking for a good camera stand in order to take that specific photo, which was attached in the e-mail, but that wasn’t the main point anyway). Tom smiled at the bracketed remark when he saw that adorable photo of his best friend’s family, but it couldn’t last any longer when he finally saw the postscript knowing that his friend was trying to remind and persuade him to do something.

_We’re still waiting for your answer regarding the lead role in the play I have asked you earlier._

Tom had to use his thumb and his index finger to grasp the frame of his eyeglasses that slid down to his nose back up and frowned until the wrinkles on his forehead were visible. Letting out a long sigh, he faced down on the desk next to the keyboard for a long while before he tucked his hand in his messy curly hair that fell down to his forehead blocking his eyesight and pushed it back. He was overwhelmed by his friend’s request that filled his lungs until he found it hard to just normally breathe.

—

Chris utilised his free time during the long holiday after he had done his routine work and rehearsals formulating a new bakery recipe for next month’s sales with the help of his family members as an assistant and a taster. Without any doubt, the original recipe of his parents was unsurprisingly a bestseller, but Chris believed that making some new products could occasionally be beneficial to the shop. And it was him who did not want to stop at that point under the shadow of his parents without doing anything rebranding especially when he was assigned to be the next owner of the bakery shop.

However, within the deepest part of his brain—or perhaps his heart as well, he also felt that he wanted to bake a special recipe only for ones willing to stand by his side, whom he dearly loved.

A picture of a woman with a soft smile vaguely appeared within his mind. He did not know who she was yet, but he knew if he was going to have a partner or a family, he wanted it to feel like the taste of that special recipe he formulated by himself—maybe he was just daydreaming after all, well, not quite weird for an adult, not until the woman’s picture was suddenly replaced by another picture of a soft-looking man with gingery curled-hair wearing eyeglasses. Besides, that person was almost as tall as him.

Chris doubted that he had lost his bracelet—which was given to him by his grandfather when he met Tom the other day. When Tom brought it up, he wasn’t quite sure at first, so he came back to check his own treasure box and eventually found it lost.

But he never thought someone would pick it up and try to find the owner even though the bracelet itself costed less than a cup of coffee. And he couldn’t even believe when he found out that person was a stranger whom he had met only a few times, who offered to treat him a drink, and who voluntarily picked him up and drove him back home safe and sound.

If there were a kindness ranking, undoubtedly, Chris believed Tom must be at one of the tops in the list. And he would not hesitate to bake a pound of special chocolate cake for him as a reward in exchange to that adorable smile and that iconic _ehehe_ which he found extremely worthy.

He then realised what he was doing when he smelled burning still-in-the-oven butter biscuits.

“Shit!”

“Hey!” Chris’s father quickly darted in because of that burning smell from the oven. He saw his son hastily taking the biscuit trays out of it. And when he figured out what had happened earlier, he let out a genuine laugh at him, “Son, I’ve told ya, haven’t I? Don’t be distracted when baking anything without setting a timer. Daydreaming of anyone, huh?”

“Nope! Not at all!” Chris instantly rejected while using heat-resistant gloves to take out the rest of the butter biscuit trays in the oven. Picking up a single piece of burnt biscuit for speculation, he could smell the burnt biscuit even more clearly.

“Trying a new recipe?” Mr Hemsworth asked his son, craning his neck over Chris’s shoulder to see what and how his son was doing.

“Yes,” answered Chris, frowning while blowing a piece of burnt biscuit in his hand. Its shape wasn’t bad at all (at least that was what he thought). He overestimated the duration of the baking process—didn’t spare a few seconds for daydreaming. Still, its taste had yet to be proven.

“Let me try,” Mr Hemsworth hadn’t finished his sentence well when he grabbed that piece of biscuit from his son’s hand, broke it into smaller pieces before he tasted one of them, “Hm… a little too much burnt, but it’s still somehow tasty, I guess. I would totally buy it if you were saying that you baked this for your loved ones.”

“**Not a loved one!**” Chris abruptly and uncontrollably yelled at his father that he had to quickly find an excuse for that, “It’s not like that… I mean, well…,” he opened his mouth hoping something would come out, but there was none, like he went completely speechless—he was unaware, but the first thing that came up to his mind at that exact moment was the picture of a gingery curled-hair man with a pair of eyeglasses!

Because he had just met Tom a few days ago, Chris tried to convince himself that it was nothing peculiar to think of him, or his face, if it wasn’t the quickest excuse he could bring up for himself.

Mr Hemsworth chuckled before patting his son’s shoulder a few times. There was a sneaky smile on his lips being able to guess what his son was probably thinking. It was a piece of cake according to his personal experiences.

“You know what? When I was going for your mother, I once did this too, this burnt biscuit.”

“And did she like it?” asked Chris, swiftly changed the subject before he had a bite of his own biscuit, “Aw, yuck, it’s burnt and bitter. How could you bear eating that, dad!?”

“There are many nicely done parts, you see, why did you eat ones that are burnt, son?”

“You broke it into pieces and ate all of that best parts, left me with this burnt one!” cried Chris, but he wasn’t taking it too seriously. And he burst out laughing when he saw his father grinned at him.

“She was with me as well when I baked the biscuits.”

“You mean these burnt ones?”

“She did the same as what I just did to you.”

“How? Nicked the biscuit from your hand?” Chris annoyingly vexed his father with an overly straight face.

Mr Hemsworth gave his second son a slow kick at his calves in a detesting way for his humour, “Of course, no! But she selected the better part before she tried.”

“And then you ate the rest? The burnt ones?”

“Just stop interrupting me for a while, son.” Mr Hemsworth flicked his tongue, one hand resting at his hip and another hand grasping the biscuit from his son’s hand, “She said that the biscuit I had baked was just like our lives. There were good and bad, depended on how we chose the point of view, and no one was ever perfect since they had been born. We all had to learn from errors and adapt the recipe just so. The taste should’ve not been too sweet nor too bitter and too crispy. It had to be ones that were able to be mixed properly, baked on a timely basis at the right temperature. Although each recipe varied, it didn’t mean there was one better or worse than the others because, in the end, they all depended on the like of everyone’s tongue, and an individual had a unique taste after all.”

Chris kept silence, delicately followed what his father had told him. After a while, Mr Hemsworth suddenly ate the rest of that piece of biscuit. Chris supposed it didn’t taste that bad, however, he couldn’t stop his father before he threw that burnt piece into his mouth. He was too late.

“A little too crispy. Those with sweet teeth would probably prefer something sweeter and less sharp.” Mr Hemsworth left him a piece of short advice, patting his shoulder, “And for the rest, a sprinkle of cocoa powder will do, I guess.”

“And what about someone… cheerful?” Chris blurted out, trying hard to convince himself that picturing a big adorable smile of Tom the other day after they had been singing along in the car was only a matter of coincidence.

Mr Hemsworth raised his eyebrows, paused, pondering on the possibility of any ingredients for this recipe adaptation before he suggested, “How about some mints?”

“Will it really… work?”

“You wouldn’t know without trying, would you?” He shrugged, winking his eye and turned himself around to the exit door.

“And… then… what was your next move?”

“Well… I baked a new recipe, of course. Made it thinner, reduced a few minutes in the oven. I’m not bragging, by the way, but I must say your mom loved that a lot.”

“The biscuits? Or… you?”

“Oh, my boy, are you gonna adopt my tricks to use on anybody, huh?”

“Nope! I’m just asking, just in case! Like a hungry… thirteen-year-old wannabe baker,” scurried, Chris quickly shifted to another topic. God was on his side that his father didn’t ask anything further.

“Isn’t it something thirty-year-old baker?” Mr Hemsworth shook his head, laughing at how his son reacted. It was not like he couldn’t guess what was on his mind, “Report me back the results after you’ve used it, son.”

“I’ll take that into my account, thanks for your cool tricks, dad.”

—TBC


	8. Sweet and Sour

The gentle smell of coffee grounds filled up his workspace. Sipping the hot black coffee in the morning couldn’t improve or brighten Tom’s brain and nerves to perform well as it would, because he was consecutively thinking over the question Benedict had asked him over again, but Ben didn’t give any clue for him to consider it more properly. Moreover, Ben pretended as if the production would be doomed should Tom not accept the lead role.

The fault he had made when he was young left him a fatal wound in his soul. Everyone knew. They knew it was a fault that no one had ever expected it to happen. But every time his mind brought it back, a wave of unstable emotions always came with it, like a great sea wave under the rainstorm hurling into the shore. Guilty, fearful, yet full of rage. And that started to become a real deal to him because he couldn’t pull off his acting when performing on the stage. He was once the new star, but the thing that happened back there pushed him down from the sky like a star that shone brightly for the last time before its explosion, and eternally lost its light.

After the incident, some people started to keep a distance from him. And that was one of the reasons he quitted performing on the stage for the sake of himself and his coworkers. But he still lingered undercover as a screenwriter, a playwright, or narrator since then. Benedict was certainly displeased, although he respected his friend’s decision.

Tom knew he had been thinking about returning to the stage with dignity, but he also knew himself too well that he still couldn’t manage to gather enough courage to rise again just yet. He couldn’t erase those insults and accusations directed at him for his fault, all by his own.

That painful memory had always been haunting him since then. And it never let him have the guts to step out from behind the curtain.

—

When the long holiday weekend had passed, Tom decided to go to the bakery shop where he had met Chris earlier before Christmas. For him, filling his belly with something sweet could usually cheer up his spirit (even though he knew he had to go out running, burning all the calories intake just to keep himself fit—not a huge problem for him anyway). And he took that stainless bracelet with him in his pocket as well.

A cold gentle breeze passed through him while he was mindfully pushing the front door of the shop open, making sure it wasn’t going to hit anybody inside. The smell of freshly baked bread welcomed his nerves warmly when he stepped his feet inside. Each type of bakery was put on a tray and arranged nicely on the shelves, but most of them that left on sale were less than a half tray. There were some other customers who were choosing their bakery of choice, and a few others were standing in the check-out queue. The doorbell that rang up caught the shop staff or maybe the owner of the shop’s attention, and the warm welcome words with a sweet smile were given to the just-arrived customer.

“Welcome to the shop~,” A young woman said with a euphonious voice and smiled at the newest customer. “Our special recipe this week is the hammer-shaped butter biscuit available in strawberry and chocolate mint flavours. As always, you can try it before you buy it.”

And then she went back to continue her undone work at the cashier.

“Hey, Kat! Would you mind giving me a hand here!?”

A shout from someone at the back of the shop drew the young woman with dark brown hair’s attention at last. Tom only knew it was a man’s voice, but that voice strangely sounded familiar to his ears.

“One second!”

When there was no one left in the check-out queue for a while, she put up an abeyance sign on the counter before she went to the back of the shop and returned with a tray full of butter biscuit packed in brown paper bags and wrapped with either red or green ribbons. The original tray with only one bag of biscuit which was left on the shelf was then replaced with the new one.

Tom simply guessed the ribbons were used to identify the flavours of those biscuits packed, but there were also some that had no ribbon at all. At the moment he was curious, his eyes eventually met hers.

“You can try them if you’d like.” She said, opening the lid of the glass jar filled with smaller biscuit pieces and handed one bite to him. “You don’t look familiar though. If I may ask, is it your first time here?”

“Ah… yes,” admitted Tom, nodding in return for her kindness at offering him a few pieces to try. A bunch of his curly hair sprang up and almost fell over his forehead. He then picked up a soft pink biscuit from the jar and delicately tasted it.

“How was it?” Kat asked, but she was pretty sure about his answer, considering Tom’s reaction after she saw him. It was like she was seeing a rainbow glittering within his eyes, a rainbow that reflected from his eyes, and went out through the lenses of his eyeglasses.

“Delicious. Absolutely delicious,” said Tom, smiling brightly until his eyes were sparkled with amazement, unable to hide his genuine pleasure. “Well, actually, my friend bought a few pieces of cake from here the other day. He said it truly pleased his tongue.”

“You can try another one,” Kat smiled back, handing another bite-size dark-brown biscuit to him and explained, “We have a special promotion for this item because it’s our newest one. The bag that is decorated with a red ribbon is filled with strawberry flavour, and the green one is chocolate mint. Another one without ribbon will be revealed once you open the package, just in case the customers are unable to decide which flavour to choose.”

“Oh, I see that’s how it works… And, by the way, are you baking this on your own?” Tom nodded, tasting another piece of biscuit. Admiring how delicate it was when the taste of butter and chocolate were mixed perfectly with the scent of fresh mint in his mouth, he continued, “I think I’ve never eaten any biscuit as savoury as this one. Honestly, it is delicious.”

“Oh… if you said that to the real baker, I guess he’d be overconfident,” she laughed while closing the lid of the jar and placed it back on its original shelf. “Well, you’re probably not going to believe your eyes, but the real baker of this shop is definitely not me. Perhaps not even human, because he looks more like a _gorilla_ baking everything at the other side of that curtain.”

“Hey! I’ve heard that! More importantly, ones who could make something savoury deserves the right praise—” one who had been the topic of earlier conversation surprisingly poked his head out between the plastic curtains dividing the shop front and back, but he was even more surprised when he saw the new customer’s face, ”err…yeah?”

Kat placed one of her hands on her hip and sighed, detestably rolling her eyes without a glance at that person. Her thumb pointed over her shoulder to mark who she was referring to, “There he is.”

“Chris?” Tom raised his eyebrows, surprised, but he was quite sure he had heard Liam mentioned someone named Kat earlier. Putting everything he remembered together, he finally managed to get around.

“Oh… you two know each other?” Kat quickly turned herself around to face Chris. It was so quick that the tip of her hair flicked with the force. “Why wouldn’t you tell me you know someone this adorable!?”

“Sorry, but do I have to tell you about who I’ve met every day, huh?” Chris objected while Kat was standing there, frowned, and placed both of her hands on her hips, looking annoyed. “If I had to do that every day, then I guess I wouldn’t get my job done.”

“Alright, alright, big guy!” Kat sighed another sigh before turning back to Tom, realised she forgot he had been standing there as well. “Oh, right, sorry about earlier, darling! Did it bother you?”

“Err… no, not at all,” replied Tom, smiling tenderly at her as he looked into her eyes while adjusting his glasses that slid down to his nose back up. “Thanks for asking…”

“W…well, then, please excuse me for a while. Take your time chatting with him!”

His soft voice, his perfect British accent that he spoke was the cause of Kat turning around back to Chris. She opened her mouth and muttered, voicelessly swore to god and covered her mouth with her hand before she swiftly escaped to the back of the shop. Chris was fast enough to catch that reaction on her face. It went pale red, but he knew it wasn’t the right time to bring it up at that moment, so he just let her go clearing a few other tasks instead of him before she could possibly have a heart attack.

“Is she…well? Did I do something wrong?” Tom tilted his head and asked Chris instead, puzzled, staring at her back before she disappeared behind the plastic curtains. He somehow felt that the current situation was more like he was the cause of the problem to her. And it happened too fast. Everything was perfectly fine until he thanked her a moment ago. He couldn’t guess what he had done wrong.

Chris raised his eyebrows and shrugged, waving his hand in the air. “No big deal. Nothing for you to worry.”

“That’s a relief if you say so…” placing his hand on his chest, Tom smiled back, licking his lips, folding them inwards for a moment, “By the way, if I may ask, are you making these all by yourself?” and then asked further, “I mean, these whole bunch of bakeries…”

“Well, mostly, yes. I normally bake those special recipes as well, yeah, that’s me.” Chris replied, stepping out from the back of the counter to where Tom was standing. “This butter biscuit, for instance, I got the idea from the Norse myth. Modded it a bit with my own imagination and bang, here you go, a perfect hammer-shaped biscuit.”

“Like the hammer of Thor?”

The curiosity that was shown clearly in both Tom’s eyes and voice sparked a great deal of surprise to Chris.

“You know him?”

“Absolutely, yes. I’ve been busy researching further on the Norse mythology for a while. It’s currently something related to my job.”

“Oh, really?”

“The first day when I saw you…” Tom looked up, brushing his hair that was about to cover his forehead back with his hand, staring into Chris’s eyes and explained further. “Well, I thought to myself, you looked like Thor.”

“Is that… a compliment?” Chris paused for a second. For a second that he saw the true turquoise colour of his eyes behind the lenses, heard the soft gentle voice in a solid posh British accent that trembled with enthusiasm when he talked, Chris finally started to figure out why Kat earlier escaped. There was something extraordinary attractive he could feel from this guy. It could easily and effortlessly capture his attention. Somehow, he could still sense there was an invisible wall on the outer side of this beautiful soul.

That could nearly make his heart race and face flush.

“Yes,” Tom replied and laughed softly again. “I think if Thor had a human vessel, he would probably look like you. Muscular, but not as much as those professional bodybuilders, and… visibly powerful, yes. And his leadership, not too strict, probably humorous in some ways. In my opinion, I guess, he possesses exceptional dignity, power, and honour when standing upright as a ruler. But there is something in him that doesn’t always threaten other people when they have to come up to him… something like that.”

“Oh… is that so?” Chris nodded, and paused, completely forgot how to speak.

“Ah, sorry, I must have babbled something nonsensical to you, I guess?”

Chris opened his mouth, couldn’t find the right word until a second later. “Err, no, not at all, actually.”

For god’s sake, Chris didn’t know why he felt like he had completely lost to this beautiful man who could easily turn the old boring Norse tale into some pleasant music sound that filled his ears. Tom, on the other hand, seemed unaware of it.

“You forgot to mention one of his special qualities” Chris cleared his throat, puffing his chest up, counting his fingers to repeat everything presented in his mind, or to cover up his nerves, he wasn’t quite sure. “Err, no, it must be two, or three.”

“Eh? What are they?”

“Good-looking, a singer, and a fiddle player.” Chris raised his eyebrows, smirking unabashedly before grabbing a biscuit bag tied with a green ribbon at the top from the shelf and forcefully put it in Tom’s hand. “This one is my treat, exclusively for your enjoyable descriptive compliment on me being your Thor.”

“Hey…” Tom protested. “No, since I’m a customer and this is what you’ve made for sale, I can’t possibly accept—”

“Chocolate mint.” Chris quickly cut him off, gave him a wicked smile—a reassuring smile that was, for Tom, still looked charming somehow. Chris pretended as if he didn’t hear what Tom had said earlier and patted his shoulder. “I think it fits for a sunshine… just like _you._”

“Well, if it was a treat for that compliment, I’d rather ask you a favour instead, is that possible?” Tom tried to find a way round, but it seemed useless when his brain was not at its full potential to think of anything else. He only knew he didn’t want to take any advantage on Chris’s kindness, and he was not at all uneasy when he could pay for the bakeries that he bought for himself at his own will.

But one thing that Tom unwillingly knew, or realised, was the thing that he felt deep down in his chest. It was a type of beat that started growing stronger and louder by the influence of this person standing in front of him. He didn’t realise when had it all started, or even… if he had ever oozed out anything suspicious.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“The darts game. I want a rematch.” The first thing that came up to his mind was the moment when they first met each other at the bar. So, Tom just blurted that out. “At Captain’s Bar, all rules are the same.”

Chris wondered, raised his eyebrows, then slowly squinted his eyes, capturing even the smallest detail of this man as if there was something attractive, something exquisite, and something that was alluring more than anything or anyone he had met before. And Tom had never failed to surprise him.

“Deal.”

“Oh, right, well…” startled when something suddenly slipped through his mind, Tom tucked his hand in one of his coat pockets and took out the stainless bracelet out, handing it to Chris. “If the abbreviated _K._ on this bracelet is from the shop’s name _Kip’s_, then I think, perhaps it belongs to you.”

Chris reached his hand out, grabbing the whole of Tom’s hand which laid that bracelet within his bigger palm, deliberately moving closer until he could feel the warmth radiating from him. Staring at him, he saw the picture of himself clearly reflected on that charming turquoise eyes. He slowly let out a deep breath, curling his lips into a faint smile at Tom. “You know what? I had no idea when I had lost it. I never think there would be anyone on Earth who found it and struggled so much to find its owner. No one, but you.” He answered frankly, letting Tom know that he was unreservedly grateful. “Even it is a typical worthless bracelet that might cost less than a good cup of coffee, and an identical replica can easily be made.”

It was Tom’s hand that was a bit colder than his. Not a surprise for Chris anyway. But it was also at the tip of his finger that he could faintly felt the strong, stable beat when he accidentally touched his wrist, and he felt the shift of that rhythm against him when he looked into his eyes. Perhaps, Chris thought, it might be nothing more than his own delusion because their pulses were likely to be indistinguishable with only the act of touching each other.

“And yes, you’re right. It is my precious item given to me by my beloved grandfather. Let’s say, for me, it is mentally invaluable.”

Chris wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing, but when he didn’t feel any objection, he just took Tom’s hand and that bracelet up and placed it right against his chest.

“I’m gratefully thank you, Tom, I really do.”

Putting away the biscuit bag he held in his hand for a while, Tom replied him with a warm hug where he swung his arm around Chris’s back.

—TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added something to the first chapter. Check it out if you haven't already! 😊


	9. Rematch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally written and posted a few days before Tom's birthday this year, so I decided to add some extras later in this chapter. Hope you enjoy and thanks for dropping by as always.

Chris told Tom that he and his brothers were usually performing at the bar on Wednesday and Thursday nights, once or twice per month, and the bakery shop’s days off were on Thursday and Friday. After checking the schedule with Chris, Tom eventually found himself some spare time in one evening to drop by at the bar. Evans remembered him, even internally guessed that he must be the one who was asking the other staffs about the owner of that bracelet who might happen to be a regular customer.

But when Evans finally found out Chris was drunk and was the one who had lost it the other night, luckily enough, he could grab his shoulder before he burst out laughing. Too hard that he almost fell on his back, covering his own chest with his other hand. Seeing Evan’s posture like that, people around them were smiling at him too, except one who had his bracelet lost and caused that very problem.

The second darting match between Tom and Chris started after The Hemsworth Brother’s performance on the stage had ended. Liam and Luke volunteered to be the referees for both of them. Tom had not touched any glass of liquor while Chris had already gulped a mug of beer. There was a white foam of that beer tainted on Chris’s beard, so Tom pointed out under his nose to let Chris know when their eyes eventually met at last. Chris noted, nodded, and used the back of his hand to rub it off completely, and later swiped his hand with the hem of his shirt before he gratefully smiled at Tom.

But Chris did not plan to go easy on him, nor did he think Tom would prefer it that way.

The first game was clearly Chris’s, but they were even at 1-1 after two games.

“Ha… I guess I see some improvements,” Chris raised one of his eyebrows, knocking the bar counter with the tips of his fingers while waiting for Luke to collect all darts on the board and sum up the scores.

“Not as good as you, I know,” smiled Tom, humbly accepted the compliment. “Besides, I’ve got an advantage when you’ve already drunk liquor while I haven’t.”

Evans instantly slid a glass of booze he had just made right to Tom. “Best drink from me, solely for the winner.”

“Dude, why does it seem like you weren’t making the best drink for me when I actually won the first game?” Chris groaned. “And this one I have to pay for him!”

“Oh yes, of course, I know. And that’s why I chose the top of the list for him, undoubtedly,” shrugged, Evans couldn’t care less. And he seemed to enjoy picking at this gorilla a lot that he must take every chance to do so.

“You bastard!” Chris groaned, flicking his tongue in disfavour after he heard Evans. “I’m gonna tell Robert about this matter!”

“Fine, I’m gonna tell him to deduct the liquor price from your wages because you bet him yourself, and you lost the bet.” Evans then turned to face Luke and Liam, “And for you two, no worries. You’ll still have the full amount of your wages covered.”

“Are you kidding me!?” Chris opened his mouth, then pointed his index finger at the bartender who was smiling like a big golden retriever dog. “Right! Jesus! Robert’s loved ones!”

Some other people not sitting too far away started to fix their eyes on Chris. Some of them were muttering, but their voices could still be heard. Tom’s accidental eavesdropping made him know they probably wanted to treat Chris the drinks. Tom wasn’t surprised, after all, seeing the bar so crowded with people coming in to attend the live show on the stage. But this is the bet between him and Chris, having other people paying for any of them wouldn’t be entirely fair.

“Well then, this one is on me, and you pay for your own, sounds good enough?” Tom eventually solved the problem. Liam and Luke weren’t entirely pleased with it, but they agreed to go along while Chris just raised his eyebrows as if he was the one who won the game.

But then another problem came up right after that.

Chris twitched his eyebrows when he heard someone saying that they wanted to pay for the gingery curled-hair man wearing glasses. Suddenly, he felt like he could flare up any moment when the attention of some other customers was caught at Tom instead of him.

“Nope. I can both treat you a drink and pay for my own. Not a big deal.” Chris couldn’t let any other person treat Tom a drink instead of him. He was pretty ashamed to admit his defeat, well, probably the defeat on the star of the bar position. “You treated me the other day, and now I think it’s my turn to do the same.”

“You treated me back as well, didn’t you? We’re even, I guess.”

“Of course not. You treated me one Jamie, and another two shots when we were playing darts. I gave up the third shot to you because you couldn’t beat me. That means you’ve treated me thrice, and I still have two I owe you.” Chris put up his hand, counting, before looking at Tom. “And it is today that we’re even.”

“That Jamie was the one I meant to treat you. It shouldn’t be counted.”

“Still, there is at least one I owe you.” Chris stood up, swinging his arm over Tom’s shoulders and drew him close, staring at a particular table where someone said they would love to treat Tom a drink. Annoyed, Chris felt like he was losing his position when the person in the topic of a conversation was Tom instead of him. “C’ mon, Tom, let me treat you back. You know, I ain’t a poor guy who cannot afford to buy someone a drink.”

Was it jealousy? _Probably not._ But the competitive nature of Chris, even to the extent of drawing some other people's attention to him, seemed unfixable somehow.

“You can treat me instead.” Luke interrupted, narrowing his eyes while looking at his brother.

“What? No way. Your wages aren’t cut, so just pay for your own.”

“Huh? It’s weird when you won’t pay anything for your own siblings, but you are more willing to pay for an acquaintance. That’s funny.” Liam booed at his brother while Tom could only make up a smile. “It’s gonna be my birthday soon.”

“Let’s sort out this way. We play darts. If I’m defeated, I’ll treat you all.” Tom suggested, amidst the chaos of the conversation among the Hemsworth brothers. All of them simultaneously turned to Tom.

“And what if I lose?” asked Liam.

“We break even,” simply replied, Tom’s lips curled into a soft smile, “I don’t plan to rob you anything, of that I must be certain.”

“But it’s not fair to you,” added Luke, “We can use the same rules as to when you played with Chris, sounds better?”

“Well, if you insist…”

“Of course. Like Evans said earlier, we’re hired by Mr Robert who owns this bar, so it’s not your duty to treat us anything at all.” Luke tried to explain the situation, and that made Tom wonder if Luke was, of all three Hemsworths, the most dignified, and reasonable. Probably also the one who would be the intermediary between his brother’s quarrel more than causing it to happen.

“Enough, enough. You both don’t have to compete with him,” brawled Chris, disappointed at how Tom seemed to focus well on what Luke had just said. Chris pointed his finger at Tom, cutting him off before he could speak anything. “My treat then. All on me. No objection. No further discussion. That’s the deal. Evans, you tell Mr Downey to clear the bill directly from my wage.” 

“Oh, yeah, that’s the deal.” Luke shrugged, and at that moment, Chris realised he had already walked right into his brother’s trick. _Too late_. “A treat in advance for Liam’s birthday.”

“Everything on the list, right? I’ve got this.” Evans was quick to respond and repeated everything that was ordered more perfectly than usual. “Two for you, two for Liam, and two for Chris. Billed to Hemmy’s wage right away.”

“Damn it!” cursed Chris, flicking his tongue in disappointment at how Luke had lured him to fall for his trick. Furiously, he scratched his blond hair, hoping it could cool down his temper. Well, money wasn’t the only cause, but for Chris, however, losing to his brother was even worse. “Until next time!”

Tom hoped he could give Chris some comfort, but he was unable to find any words to raise Chris’s spirit. All he could think of was the act of wrapping his arm around, patting softly on Chris’s shoulder before stepping up and sat on the stool next to him, trying to calm him down. Tom then turned to Luke, who was giggling with Liam over that previous matter regarding Chris. Luke quietly whispered to him something which seemed to be, ‘It’s_ totally fine,_’ or ‘_No problem,_’ that made Tom realised the fact Chris once told him earlier about his frequent brothers’ conflict.

Tom admitted he had no idea how conflicts and quarrels could make the brothers’ bond grew stronger. Still, he was aware that prejudice wasn’t the best way to judge any people before getting to know them better. 

“That was quite unfortunate, eh?” grabbing another shot handed to him by Evans, Tom slid that glass right to Chris, patting his lap after that as a comfort. “This one is my treat to you… are you alright?”

“Thanks, mate.” Chris sighed, took the glass before chucking the whole shot at once, “Seems like it’s not my day, after all.”

“Hey…” Evans interrupted while Chris annoyingly slammed the bottom of the glass on the counter.

Chris squinted his eyes at Evans, frowning, waving his hand at his own defeat and shook his head. “You can put whatever bills on me as many as you like, but do not ever lay any on this guy!” and pointed his finger at Tom.

“Nope, I’m telling you that someone has just offered to cover all of your bills tonight,” chuckled Evans, he further explained, “just like it’s always been..”

“Well, then you can just do as it’s always done.”

“Never change your mind, do you?” repeated Evans, “It would cost you bucks today, fine?”

Chris mockingly laughed, mumbling, “Have I ever changed my mind about this, though?”

“Great. Thank you very much.” Evans nodded and smiled at his friend who shared the same given name before pouring another glass of drink and handed it to him. “Take this one as a complimentary drink from me.”

But Chris just humbly returned that drink back to Tom, “Sorry, it’s supposed to be yours at the first place.”

“Seems like your soul has already gone south today, eh?” Tom took it into his hand, wasn’t going to drink it right away, “So, we take it as a par today. And we’ll have a rematch next time, is that ok for you?”

Chris rested his chin on his palm, curling his lips into a soft smile as an answer to that question when their eyes incidentally met after the whole conversation finished.

Evans, who happened to be in that situation sneakily whistled to himself, surprised because it was extremely rare to see that soft smile from Chris. But he chose to keep his mouth shut than take the mickey out of his friend. He had no idea what type of relationship did Chris and Tom have. Maybe his friend was just too drunk and unconsciously smiled like an idiot, or else if the was anything more than that, it was none of his business. Evans was polite enough to let the two chat privately with each other without any further intervention, and he had a lot of things to be sorted out behind the counter of the bar.

—

Tom found himself routinely visiting Chris’s bakery shop every week after the incident. He later knew that every single day of the week the shop had different special offers on different types of the bakery. To avoid the crowd and long check-out queue, he decided to go to the shop a bit later when there were fewer people in the shop. He could take more time without hurry that way, and make sure that one over-six-foot-tall guy wouldn’t be a bother to other customers visiting the shop as well.

No, not that he was trying to make up an excuse to meet Chris.

Kat seemed to be so fond of this newest customer. At least, that was what Chris had observed even he didn’t have many chances to welcome his own customers by himself at the front end. It was most apparent when she told him the story about her and Tom with a daydreaming gesture, squealing about his gentleness and humility. There was always an adorable smile that was there every time his check-out was done. Tom always greeted her, or sometimes even volunteered to help her fill up the empty plates on the shelves with bakeries. Chris was too lazy to object Kat about Tom being so nice to her. And that made her think that that man was trying to flirt with her. He was quite sure Tom would be one who always be nice to everyone, and it was a no brainer to imagine those situations she had told him.

Not that Chris was jealous or anything close to it.

About one month later, Chris had gotten a special two-pound birthday cake order. Kat handed it from someone that she couldn’t figure out what was the client’s name written in the order paper to Chris. (This was beyond human handwriting. Chris could only figure out the first three letters, which were read _Ben—something_.) Ben also asked them to put a specific birthday message on top of the cake and had them delivered it to the house of the birthday person.

Chris paused at the birthday boy’s name, which was neater written, at least, readable.

_‘Thomas William Hiddleston’_

According to the map drawn, the house was located a few blocks away from his bakery shop. And it was on the 9th of February that Mr _Ben—something_ would like the order to be delivered by the time that had yet to specify until that day to surprise someone named _Thomas_.

Chris had no idea that _Thomas_ was the exact Tom who happened to be one of his regular customers. Not until he finally delivered the birthday cake order right at the front door and saw the house owner’s face, along with Mr _Ben—something_ who was standing behind Tom.

“Oh, hey!” greeted Chris with a surprise after knowing the actual birthday boy, then handed the cake box to Tom, smiling, “Didn’t know it’s your birthday today.”

“Eh?” Tom turned to Ben, then back to Chris, confused to the point where Benedict couldn’t help bug giggled, “I don’t think I’ve placed an order—”

“Thanks for coming.” Benedict took the box from Chris’s hand instead of Tom before telling his friend, “Oh, don’t make a face like that. It’s me. I’m ordering it for you,” then put that box into Tom’s hand. “That’s why I’m here, Tom. Honestly, come on, it’s your birthday. Do you think I’d be here without any surprise at all?”

“Is that the reason why you ordered the birthday cake from Kip’s?” looking down to the text written on the toppings, Tom tried to read another line that wasn’t his name, mumbling, “I can’t believe you…”

“Eh… Aren’t you satisfied?” Chris gently asked, feeling a bit distressed. But it was Tom who quickly realised and knew that he had to make it clear soon before it was too late.

“No, I mean… well, I’m afraid it would be a bother to you both, doing this much for me.” Nervous, Tom stammered, trying to explain before Chris could misunderstand his intention, “Moreover, I’ve been to your shop regularly, so…”

Something that had been stinging on Chris’s chest was lifted. He let out a deep breath and smiled at Tom’s answer when their eyes met before telling, “Yeah, I know. Kat tells me every day when you come.”

“Eh, is that so?”

“She’s fond of you, I can tell.” Chris joked, couldn’t remove a smile on his face when chatting with Tom.

“For the record, this guy is still single, and I’ve been asking him out many times. Never succeed, though. If you have _any girls—_” Ben suddenly paused when he saw the way they looked at each other. He just had to. He wasn’t sure, after all, if there was anyone capable of bringing out the sweetest stare in the eyes and smile from Tom like this handsome buff man was doing. If it wasn’t during the play that both he and Tom had participated earlier in their lives when Tom played as one of a couple, this was probably the first time for him to see Tom like that. “Err… never mind. Just forget it.”

Benedict secretly wondered, between Tom and Chris, if it was like there were only two people in their own world. But it was their business and had nothing to do with him anyway.

As a friend, he could only speculate and root for them from afar if something was happening between the two.

“I like her as well. She’s lovely,” replied Tom, lowering his eyes as if he wanted to avoid the eye contact by pretending to read the text on the topping of the cake under the transparent cover, “You know her better, I think you can feel it, yeah?”

“You probably wouldn’t say that if you knew her better,” chuckled, Chris waited until Tom looked up. Their eyes met again, “Moreover, she’s already taken by someone. Definitely not me though.”

Benedict politely interrupted by clearing his throat after a long silence. In fact, it wasn’t his intention to interrupt their conversation (that was mostly eyes communication). But if he hadn’t done anything, they would have been unable to start the actual birthday celebration.

“Ah, sorry, that would have been a bother to you, coming here.”

“Not at all,” Chris automatically rejected, raising one of his eyebrows before pointing his finger at the box, “it’s my job, in case you forget.”

“Well, thank you very much, anyway,” Tom nodded and unintentionally gave out the _e-he-he_ laugh to Chris as a farewell message, “See you later.”

“Alright, see you.”

Chris stood there, watching those two walked away for a while before he decided to shout out the house owner’s name again.

“Tom.”

“Yes?” Tom turned back to where the sound was coming from. Benedict’s eyes followed.

“Happy Birthday,” making a quick salute pose, Chris bade him farewell with a big smile.

Benedict thought that his two-pound-cake from his favourite bakery shop was probably bested when he saw the reply that Tom gave the baker back. A charming smile that, if seen, one could easily get away with the murderer without any second thought.

And he secretly named it, ‘_An English Smile._’

But he wouldn’t bother himself telling Tom about it. Not so soon, at least.

—TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everyone. 🎃


	10. The Touch of Nature

One evening Chris accidentally saw Tom when he, out of nowhere, had the gut feeling about going out running in the park nearby. He knew it was Tom. He knew it when he saw that fluffy ginger hair under the dark running cap. Not to mention the eye-catching figure of Tom in the hooded jacket and the matching jogger that stood out among the crowd. Chris noticed Tom was not wearing his eyeglasses as usual. But he was too slow to shout out anything to him before Tom ran further away.

However, greeting Tom at that moment was not as easy as it seemed. Chris was quick enough to snap the white earbuds wire originating from Tom’s pocket. And he was quite sure Tom had been running with some music in his ears.

Chris classified himself as a healthy person (even though sometimes he was a sweet tooth). He routinely found himself some time for exercises such as weightlifting, treadmill running, or sometimes doing his favourite sport at the sea surfing plenty of sea waves in summer. Going after Tom here in the park should not be a problem.

So, he quickly ran after Tom. A piece of cake, he thought. All he had to do to catch up was to run faster than him.

Chris eventually kept running like that for about half an hour. Startled while he was looking for Tom—who should not have been too far away in front of him, a hand of someone patted his shoulder. Chris turned around and then realised it was Tom’s hand. It was Tom who caught him up instead.

“Hey, Chris!” Tom greeted, slowing down his running speed to that of Chris’s, before pulling his earphones out and swung them across his shoulder, “Good evening.”

“Oh, hi! What’s up?” Chris turned to Tom and saw those traces of sweats trickling down Tom’s pale throat. Tom’s cheeks went red, and Tom’s breathy panting had probably succeeded in messing with his mind.

“Sorry, did I startle you?” Tom knew it from the response received by his hand, and he just automatically apologised.

“Have you ever counted—” Chris paused, took a deep breath before he continued, “how many times in a day that you say sorry?”

“Eh? Me?”

“Nope. I’m talking to the vigorous knight standing tall behind you,” Chris shrugged, pretended to talk over Tom’s back as a tease.

At that moment they ran past one huge tree with some budding leaves as a sign of season transitioning from late winter to spring. Another cold breeze blew through their skins. From the very top of the head to their toes, the coldness left them a shivering touch all over their bodies. It felt like someone was covering the back of Tom’s neck with a handful pile of snow. He looked around, freaking out, then turned to face Chris, catching a glimpse of that mischievous smile at the last second before it vanished away. He then realised he was teased, while Chris, on the other hand, pretended there was nothing happened, and let out a long exhale as they jogged together on the path.

“Hey…”

“Just kidding,” said Chris with a joyful smile, puffing Tom’s chest with one of his enormous hand. “There are only two of us here. It was just a tease, no big deal, really.”

Chris was quick enough to spot those silent tears in Tom’s eyes before Tom wiped them away with the back of his hand—if Chris did not see an illusion of Tom who almost cried.

“You alright, mate?” Chris asked, trying to reassure.

“Totally fine, don’t worry.”

“I thought you freaked out…,” said Chris, laughing. Then he slowed down the walk and stopped laughing at once before he pulled Tom’s arm to make him pause when he saw a drop of tear trickling down from his eyes to his flushing cheek. “Tom!? Hey!”

“No, I’m okay, Chris, it’s all right.” Tom quickly wiped away the sweat on his face with the top of his t-shirt before Chris grabbed him and turned him around, facing each other, “It was just a sweat that got into my eyes.”

“I’m sorry! I had no idea you feared the _ghost_—”

“No, no, no, I can explain,” stammered, wiping his tears away from his face, Tom covered it with a soft chuckle, “it’s not that bad, just…”

“But I saw you _cried_—” Chris quickly apologised, grabbing a hankie on his shoulder and handed it to Tom.

“Listen, _Chris_, I—”

Betrayed by his own body, Tom could not possibly stop the tears falling from his eyes. They just evidently trickled down to his cheeks. Chris had no idea what happened to him.

Freaking out, Chris did not wait for Tom to take the hankie he offered him. He did not even realise when it fell to the ground. And he did not know what he was going to do until it happened. He just instinctively went on and gently wiped those tears away using the back of his hands.

—

They decided to take a rest at one of the public benches in the park after they had done jogging, chatting about various things in their lives. Chris, while having no gut to ask Tom about what happened earlier, felt guilty teasing him like that without knowing his back story, so he decided to bake something for him as a proper apology later. For whatever reason, even stupidest ones, he knew so well that he could not bear losing someone like Tom.

Until a moment later, Tom raised it up himself.

“Well, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to shock you.”

“It’s not your fault, but mine,” Chris objected, “I shouldn’t tease you like that.”

“It’s… well, actually it’s kind of embarrassing for me, but…” their eyes met when Tom raised his head and decided to tell the truth, “I have no control over it.”

“That you cried?”

“Yes,” he admitted, leaning his back against the bench, looking up at the sky which was slowly shifting its shade from blue to pale orange, “it’s an involuntary act when I am spooked. It just happens.”

“That doesn’t sound good, eh?”

“Yeah… When I was an actor in acting class, on the stage, there was a horror scene where I had to perform my role, and, during rehearsals, it was kind of problematic when my tears just didn’t go away.” Tom continued reminiscing his past, smiling gloomily, before he realised that he had never told Chris about his previous career, so he did, “Oh right, I don’t think I’ve told you… I was a former stage actor before I quit and become a screenwriter instead.”

“Ah… I see…” Chris nodded, finally started to realise why he had lost to Tom at their first encounter when they had an eye-staring challenge, “But—if you don’t mind answering, why did you quit?”

Tom went silent for a while, and all responses Chris could sense were a long sigh and a heartbreaking smile on Tom’s face.

“It’s a long story, but it’s all over. Just not the thing you should care anyway,” Tom covered his sorrow with another smile, stood up and stretched under the dusk sky before he flicked his wristwatch looking at the time it showed.

Chris could easily guess, from what he felt, that Tom did not want to talk about it. It was not the story he had to tell him anyway, or perhaps it was not the right time for it to be told. No matter how curious Chris had for the story behind that grievous smile, he knew he could not dare calling Tom a close friend whom he could freely talk to and tell everything in his life to him.

“It’s getting dark here, so, shall we leave the park?” asked Tom politely, offering his hand to pull the bigger man up from the bench.

Chris grabbed his hand and slowly got up, but he did not promptly let go. Tom could sense some delicate force that tangled between their fingers, as if Chris did not want it to break free, but he finally let go at last.

“So… you come here for a run that often?” Chris abruptly asked while they were walking to the park exit.

“Well, I prefer going out running when my brain isn’t functional at its best,” replied Tom, “usually a few days out of a whole week… and it does help, honestly.”

“Why not buying a treadmill instead?”

“That’s a good question,” chuckled, Tom continued to explain, “but, have you ever heard the phrase _‘One touch of nature makes the whole world kin’_ ?”

Chris shook his head as an honest answer, attentively waiting for further explanation.

“It is a phrase from one of Shakespeare’s plays, _Troilus and Cressida_. But in fact, the meaning of the phrase that Shakespeare probably wanted to imply in his era differs from our understanding nowadays… like… it is slightly different, perhaps, yeah…” Tom explained, while unconsciously rubbing his hand against the base of his neck.

The light radiating from the lamp posts along the footpath gave Chris a chance to see those sparkles in Tom’s eyes while he was enthusiastically explaining all the related details of that phrase. Chris knew so well that he should not interrupt. The soft tone of Tom’s voice when he spoke made Chris mesmerized, as if it was music to his ears. Chris also knew if Tom realised that he could not catch any important messages after his protracted explanation because he only enjoyed listening to his voice, Tom probably would not be impressed.

“So, what actually does Shakespeare want to imply?”

“It’s quite like… admiring the relation between _the close ones_—”

Tom suddenly covered his mouth with his hand, nervous, as if he had just realised he blurted out something he should not say, or else it might cause a misunderstanding to Chris. He knew he had to try his best to figure out how to make those explanation clearer, though it was more like he was looking for a needle in a burning haystack when his heart beat so fast that he could not concentrate.

“Well, I mean, like _brothers_, or in the context of that play, it should be _comrades_!”

It suddenly reminded Tom of that one delicate touch earlier—against his fingertips, when he felt like Chris did not want to let go of his hand.

“Is that so…?” Chris nodded, folding his lips inwards while looking at Tom’s face.

Chris did not think that it was a mistake this time. Maybe it was just a normal body response. Both he and Tom had just finished exercising and were walking home on foot together. And he should not be surprised about how Tom’s face went flushing red at that moment after he finished his line. No, it was not an unpredictable situation anyway.

“It’s getting dark. I think we should get going,” Tom quickly walked towards the nearest exit. Chris then followed right after him.

“Hey,” yelled Chris, and then he paused for a second, could not find the word to continue, so he just blurted out from his heart, stammered, “Well…I mean… if… if you love something natural… why not going out for a picnic or plan a camping somewhere?” hoping Tom would understand what exactly did he want to say.

“Oh… now you bring it up… yeah, I think that’s an interesting idea as well.”

“You can join me,” Chris did not know what he said until he heard his own voice. So, he quickly added up some more details to prevent any misunderstandings that he might want to ask him out for a date. _No, that is not even possible_, “and Liam, and Luke. Sometimes Evans is joining us as well.”

Chris had to stop his thoughts before they went too far.

“Really?” Tom raised his eyebrows, his voice filled with joy for a while before turning gloomier, “But I don’t have any experiences…”

“No problem when you are with me, mate!”

“Ah… then please let me join you and your friends in advance.”

“Alright. Looking forward to hearing from you then.”

—TBC

FYI, this is a fact about Tom Hiddleston, in case you haven't heard of. 😂


End file.
